Former Town academy youngster Ben Knight has left Real Murcia after only six months with the Spanish third-tier club.

Knight, 22, joined Murcia in August from Manchester City, having left the Blues’ youth set-up to move to the Etihad in 2018, Blues veteran academy coach Bryan Klug having said he was the best youth player he had ever worked with.

During his time in Spain, Knight made only one start in a Copa Federation tie in addition to four appearances from the bench in the league, 154 minutes of football in total.

The forward, who is from Reach in Cambridgeshire and is the nephew of ex-England international cricketer Nick Knight, made one senior appearance for City, as a sub in the 2021 Community Shield at Wembley, while spending spells on loan at Crewe and Stockport.

Photo: Action Images

WalkRules added 11:25 - Feb 11 Is it just me that thought "Hmm - free agent forward - I wonder?"
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d77sgw added 11:28 - Feb 11 Remember we were outraged when he left...just one in a long line of young players who would have benefitted from staying here and developing slowly instead of making the 'big move' too young. Wonder how Tyreece Simpson's getting along at the moment....
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parhamblue added 11:31 - Feb 11 A reported million quid to the family and the same to the club are not amounts to be sniffed at, but doesn't this just underline how the big club big academy system chews up talent and spits it out? It's a rotten system that does few if any many favours.
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MattinLondon added 11:37 - Feb 11 It’s easy to say with hindsight that he should have stayed here. But, at the time we were not an attractive option - Man City offered much better money, much better coaching and much better opportunities. At the time, in comparison we had nothing and Marcus Evans was running down all aspects of the club. As a Man City graduate he will probably be afforded another chance in L1 or L2. If he hadn’t of made the grade here, he would now be playing in a much lower standard of non-league football. Plus, he probably has a lot more money in the bank after being at Man City.

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Churchman added 11:41 - Feb 11 The system is rotten. Knight may not have made it anyway. He may make it still, but I cannot see anything but waste in the way the big clubs hoover up and spit out young players.
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d77sgw added 11:44 - Feb 11 Fair point Mattin - I'm sure we'd have all done the same. Its just such a shame to see a real talent not make the grade. And its not just him - the other youngsters that were around at that time who had the big boys chasing them...Flores, Crowe - just never kicked on. Really the only successful youth products of the last 5 years are Downes, Woolfie and, arguably, Dobra (I would include Liam Gibbs, but really...) - and its difficult to see the youth getting much of a look-in any time soon.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 11:45 - Feb 11 The game has changed hasn't it? It's so easy to fall out and not get back, money is the biggest talker. IDK if Ben is set for life after his city move but he's certainly in a strong finnancial position, take it whilst it's there, it can be fleeting. It can go both ways, Mings for example but his story is a much rarer one. Of course maybe developing here and he's a better player and that big move comes along but being the best at under 16s doesn't automatically translate to having a career.

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jdtractor96 added 11:56 - Feb 11 d77sgw - I forgot all about Crowe! He was once linked with Arsenal, United and others. I really thought Baggott would be our best academy output for years but injuries have really hampered him sadly. So pleased he’s back fit and playing well
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Monkey_Blue added 11:59 - Feb 11 Free agent or not he was 22 last June so he couldn’t play for us anyway( if anyone is thinking we should take a look). That he went to a small Spanish club instead of a decent championship or league one club after being released by city suggests he’s not going to be swamped with offers from such now.
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Broadbent23 added 12:27 - Feb 11 Big clubs seem to offer so much, take in youngsters under 23s and spit them out, if they don't reach their grade. Hopefully LD won't jump too soon with all and sundry sniffing round. He needs to learn his trade here for another two years. Maybe KMc might look at BK.
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jonwillpott added 12:54 - Feb 11 Monkey Blue.....we have a space in our 25 man squad for a free agent as we have only registered 24 over 21's!!
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Dissboyitfc added 13:00 - Feb 11 Actually MattinLondon many people said at the time it was the wrong time for him to move, hindsight not needed. He’s not the first and won’t be the last to leave!
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SpiritOfJohn added 13:11 - Feb 11 Let's not forget Cameron Humphreys. He's developing well and helping Wycombe to upset the big money teams in League One. He has stayed with us and it will be interesting to find out if he has made the right decision. I hope he gets a chance with us next season.
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johnwarksshorts added 13:21 - Feb 11 I believe that if he had stayed here and had more coaching and more minutes he would have developed into a better player., but as others on here have eluded to its all about money.
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Monkey_Blue added 13:48 - Feb 11 Jonwillpot.. my mistake Enciso doesn’t count does he. Either way I can’t see knight being good enough for us when he barely got a game for a third tier Spanish side.
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Ipswichbusiness added 15:26 - Feb 11 A talented young player who has had rotten luck with injuries. I don’t claim to know his situation, but it may be too harsh to say that it is “all about money”. In 2018 we were a club owned by Marcus Evans who was underinvesting and we were seemingly going nowhere. To have interest from such a successful club as Manchester City with the best facilities and coaching must have been a large factor in his decision.

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Essexnblue added 17:33 - Feb 11 All of these players that keep getting mentioned, when are you all going to realise that our Youth Development is second rate. Knight never looked great at Youth level and to be honest when he went all we did was moan, but to watch him in the flesh, he was bang average. That is underlined by the fact that he has failed when at his prime in the Spanish Third Division, same standard as the Conference. Until we springboard our status to the next Premier Youth level then we will continue to turn out players and become Needham markets academy.

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Linkboy13 added 18:19 - Feb 11 Essexnblue you stole my thunder your blog is almost identical to what i was going to say. We are not producing young players any where near good enough for future first team football we seem to be supplying non league teams with talent. I remember Ben Knight coming to Portman road with Crewe a few years back and looking completely disinterested during the pre match warm up. Now he's been released by some third rate Spanish team his next stop could be Needham.

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runningout added 18:56 - Feb 11 Blog?
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