The highly-rated 19-year-old winger featured in all three of City’s games in the Vodacom Challenge, giving him a further chance to show off the skills that marked him out as a potential star of the future in the 2007/08 FA Youth Cup-winning side.
A move into the senior set-up followed, as did his first-team debut as a substitute against Bolton in the final game of last season, and this summer’s influx of attacking talent is inspiring rather than intimidating the Slovakian.
He says: “There have been so many attacking players coming in recently that maybe I would think I would not get a chance. But I don’t think like that - if you have the talent you can make it anywhere but you have to keep trying.
“I was really happy to get my debut last season, and now the manager has given me a couple more chances in South Africa and in Germany before that, so I’m pleased with how things are for me now.”
Vlad grabbed his chance to impress once again in South Africa when some team-mates were given the chance to get back to full fitness after a busy international summer, and he’s looking to repay Mark Hughes’ faith in him going into the new season.
He continues: “I’ll have to wait and see if I am sent out on loan, but I would really like to stay and have more chances here because I am so happy with how it is for me here now.
“It’s great that he (Hughes) believes in me, so I have to give it my best all the time now. You have to work very hard to impress the manager, as well as my team-mates and the fans too.
“Last year was my first year out of the Academy in men’s football, and I found it a little hard to begin with because it is such a big step from one to the other. I knew after the pre-season games last year that I needed to get stronger and fitter, so I did my best and it was great to get my chance against Bolton at the end of the season.
“You have to go through that first step and it’s always going to be hard, so now I’ve got my debut I’m looking to get some more games under my belt.”
