Former Manchester City forward Ian Mellor has sadly passed away at the age of 74.

Growing up as a City fan, he made his debut for the Club in March 1971 in a 1-1 draw away to Coventry City.

His first goal came four days later in a European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final victory over Gornik Zabrze on his Maine Road debut.

Ian went on to make 50 appearances for City including as a substitute during the 1972 Charity Shield when we beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park.

In total, he scored 10 goals including in his first Manchester derby and a UEFA Cup clash with Valencia.

His final appearance came in March 1973 before going on to have a successful career at Norwich, Brighton, Chester, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City.

He was later a committee member for the Former Players Association at City.

Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their thoughts and best wishes to Ian’s family and friends at this difficult time.