Scott Sinclair
Pacey winger Scott Sinclair joined City in the summer after an impressive two years at Swansea, including a hattrick in the play-off final at Wembley as the Swans became the first Welsh side ever to reach the Premier League.
Part of Team GB in the 2012 Olympics, Sinclair began his career with Bristol Rovers where he made his debut for the senior team at just 15.
He left for Chelsea at the end of that season but couldn’t establish himself in the squad – amid a succession of short term loans he made just 14 appearances for the club over five years before departing in 2010.
George Weah
Voted Fifa World Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year in 1995, George Weah arrived in England in 2000 on loan to Chelsea.
In just six months with the club, he scored five and picked up an FA Cup winner’s medal.
His time with City was even briefer, signing in August and leaving two months later after making 11 appearances and notching four goals.
Weah had made his name with sizzling displays for Paris Saint Germain and AC Milan in the 1990s, and was later voted African Footballer of the Century.
Terry Phelan
City boss Peter Reid broke the transfer record for a defender to sign Terry Phelan in 1992 for £2.5m after five years with Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’.
He turned out 122 times for the Blues in three and a half seasons and scored a memorable goal against Tottenham in an FA Cup tie – running the length of the pitch before sliding the ball past the onrushing keeper.
The Manchester-born Irish international made the switch to Chelsea in 1995 but it wasn’t a happy move and he made just 15 league appearances before signing for Everton.
Phelan later returned to West London to win promotion to the Premier League with Fulham in 2001.
Daniel Sturridge
Now with Liverpool, Daniel Sturridge is a City Academy graduate who played in two FA Youth Cup finals and picked up the trophy with the Blues in 2008.
After making his debut for the first team aged just 17, the striker made 21 league appearances and grabbed five goals before moving to Chelsea on a tribunal in 2009.
An impressive loan spell at Bolton gave his talents greater exposure, but Daniel couldn’t hold down a place in the side and returned to the North West with Liverpool in January.
Clive Allen
Son of Tottenham Hotspur forward Les, Clive Allen hopped between a grand total of seven London clubs during his career.
A striker himself, Allen spent a brief period outside the capital when he left for Bordeaux in 1988. He only lasted a year in France before moving to Maine Road where he spent 2.5 seasons, netting 16 goals from 53 league appearances.
The pull of London was evidently still too strong to resist and Allen left for Chelsea in December 1991, scoring seven goals in three months before swapping Stamford Bridge for Upton Park the following March.
He even swapped sports in the capital - playing for the London Monarchs in NFL Europe towards the end of his career.
City are back in Premier League action against Wigan on Wednesday - get your tickets here.
