Premier League champions Manchester City finalised a deal to loan 18-year-old Portuguese midfielder Marcos Lopes to Ligue 1's Lille on Monday.
It could be a nice chance for the youngster to showcase his skills in a strong league with a strong side – Lille finished third in France last season, earning them a place in at least the qualifying stages of the 2014/15 Champions League.
“It is very important for me to play in a professional league for the first time. I think playing in the French League will be very beneficial because it is a league that is getting bigger, better and stronger every year,” he told Man City’s website.
Local fans here in the UAE had a chance to get an up-close look at Lopes when he converted a tidy little goal against Al Ain in their May exhibition here. With Lopes getting a chance to soon draw perhaps some wider notice, we thought we’d share a few of the shots The National photographers Christopher Pike and Satish Kumar caught of the youngster at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium match back in May.
Click through above to check out the images.
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