Former Ipswich Town academy talent Ben Knight has departed Premier League champions Manchester City for a Spanish third tier outfit Real Murcia.
Attacking midfielder Knight made big waves at the Blues as a youngster, with ex-Academy chief Bryan Klug once intimating he was the ‘potentially the best young player I’ve worked with’ and Kieron Dyer comparing his style to Lionel Messi.
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He duly departed Suffolk as a 16-year-old in 2018, signing for giants City for a fee believed to be £1m.
While he initially impressed, he only ever made one senior appearance - in the 2021 Community Shield at Wembley - and was loaned out to Crewe Alexandra and Stockport County.
Ben Knight spent time out on loan at Crewe and Stockport while at Manchester City (Image: PA)
Now he's left the Etihad for good, signing for Murcia, who play in the Primera Federacion, the third tier of Spanish domestic football.
A statement on the City website said: "Everyone at City would like to wish Ben the best of luck for the future and thank him for his efforts at City."
🛡️ 𝑩𝒆𝒏 𝑲𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 y su nueva armadura. pic.twitter.com/m248XGF5RE
— Real Murcia CF (@realmurciacfsad) August 12, 2024
Speaking back in 2021, ahead of facing the Blues with loan side Crewe, Knight said: “I’m so grateful for everything Ipswich did for me.
“I was so young but was given so many opportunities to go and play. It’s a great club, I loved it there and it made me the person I am today.
"I was looked after really well and anything I or my family needed, there was always someone there to help.
“I played in the FA Youth Cup games at Portman Road and that was really cool, so I was hoping before I left, with everything going on with Mick McCarthy, that I might have had a little run-out with the first-team. But that didn’t come round. I was very young."
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