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On a night when Manchester City unveiled a new £34.2 million ($45.7 million) winger who contributed a goal and an assist, it was still a 17-year-old academy product who stole the spotlight.
Allan's display against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup was far from forgettable. The Brazilian created the opening goal of the third-round fixture and added the third himself in a commanding 5–0 victory — a promising beginning following his August arrival from Palmeiras.
Yet the player who truly turned heads was Floyd Samba, virtually unheard of outside youth football circles before the Etihad Stadium lights came on.
Son of former Premier League centre-back Christopher Samba, the teenager earned a spot on the bench when Enzo Maresca's side defeated Coventry City earlier this month. He went unused on that occasion, much like he had during preseason when he accompanied the first team on their tour of Hong Kong and South Korea.
But if there was ever a moment for Maresca to unleash Samba, it was a home midweek cup tie against a side sitting 14th in the EFL Championship. The Cheshire-born youngster made sure he seized the opportunity, netting twice.
His first, on 29 minutes, jolted City into gear after a sluggish opening and was a composed header in a packed six-yard box. The second — City's fourth of the evening — curled into the far bottom corner from just inside the penalty area after Norwich gifted possession. Samba's proud father, best remembered for his spell at Blackburn Rovers, was watching from the stands.
He began the season featuring in Premier League 2 alongside his brother Tyrone, 18, but has now overtaken his older sibling. Samba scored twice in two appearances in the U-21 competition last month. He led the line as the No. 9 against Norwich, filling in for Erling Haaland on the Norwegian superstar's night off — despite not being a natural striker.
Samba: 'My Idol Is Pogba'
Samba's natural home is in midfield, and his Premier League 2 goals came from a central role as a No. 8. He told the Manchester Evening News following a UEFA Youth League match last season that Paul Pogba is his "favorite player of all time."
After countless hours studying highlight reels of the former Manchester United star, there are clear technical parallels to be drawn — along with an obvious physical resemblance.
"Just the way he plays, I try to be as composed as him as well. His quality is top, technique and everything," Samba said at the time. "Tall as well, like me. Especially with passing ability, technique, everything is just top, so I look up to him. I always see him online."
In practice, it was more straightforward for Maresca to hand Samba a first-team opportunity as a striker, away from the physical demands of midfield, where the manager favoured the composure of Ayyoub Bouaddi in his first domestic start and the know-how of Mateo Kovačić.
City's midfield options are plentiful following a summer overhaul that brought in not only Bouaddi, but also Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernández — two of the most costly transfers in Premier League history. Samba's route to the first team looks more viable as a No. 9, where City lack a natural deputy for Haaland, and he has now demonstrated he is capable of filling that role.
Being firmly tied to one position as a young outfield player at Manchester City is rarely a certainty, as Nico O'Reilly would readily confirm.