Karim is a 16-year-old central defender who moved to City after coming through the youth system at Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
Extremely confident on the ball, Karim was an integral part of the Dutch side that won the UEFA European Under 17 Championships in May and he scored their opening goal of their successful campaign with a header against Germany. In the semi final he played against City’s Alex Henshall as England were despatched 1-0, and in the final Karim helped put Germany to the sword as the Dutch became European champions with a 5-2 win.
In a busy summer, Karim has subsequently played in the Under 17 World Cup in Mexico, skippering his country in their final group game, which sadly for him saw the hosts end Dutch interest in the competition.
Since then he has settled into our Elite Development squad nicely, playing against Altrincham, Stalybridge Celtic and Espanyol. Good form for Andy Welsh’s side promoted him to the squad that took part in the Dublin Super Cup, and he briefly featured in both games.
Denis Suarez (above) is a midfielder who has moved to City from Celta Vigo in his native Spain. Like Rekik, the 17-year-old has played for his country in his age group and after joining us in the close season he flew to the US for the recent pre-season tour.
After impressing in training, Denis was finally given a chance at the end of the LA Galaxy game and he showed a cool temperament to slot home from 12 yards out in the penalty shoot-out with his first touch in a sky blue shirt.
Luca Scapuzzi was similarly quick off the mark at the weekend, squeezing the ball home seconds after coming on as a substitute against the Airtricity Irish XI.
The 20-year-old striker is a product of AC Milan’s youth system and also spent time on loan with Serie B side Portogruaro.
