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 CityBen 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."

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."