Luke Mbete has shared his excitement at playing alongside Manchester United forward Shola Shoretire after sealing a loan move to Bolton Wanderers.
Manchester City centre-back Mbete struggled for minutes on loan at Huddersfield in the Championship in the first half of the season, so the club have recalled him and sent him back on loan to Bolton in League One.
Mbete joins City teammate James Trafford, who is first choice goalkeeper at Bolton, and also United's Shoretire, who switched to the Trotters earlier this month. And Mbete said he is looking forward to rekindling his relationships with both players having played alongside Shoretire at international level.
ALSO READ: Man City transfer news LIVE deadline day updates as Joao Cancelo joins Bayern
“Obviously, Man City have played a massive part in my journey so far,” Mbete said. “The next step is with Bolton and I feel like it is the best step for me right now.
“There is competition everywhere. Here we have a good squad, so everyone is going to be competing with each other. But I am excited to get started. It is a very good time to be here. We have got a semi-final soon and are fighting for promotion.”
Regarding Trafford and Shoretire, Mbete said: “I have known Traff for a very long time so it’s good to connect with him and to be with him again. We have always had a good connection from a young age so it will be good to play with him again.
“Shola is someone I have known for a while now. We played against each other from young ages and we have been with each other at England, so we have got a good connection. It is always nice to see familiar faces. With the team we have got, I feel like they have welcomed me really well and I am excited to play with them and to push forward.”
Bolton boss Ian Evatt explained that the League One outfit will look to get the best out of Mbete's education at City, and hope he has a point to prove after his Huddersfield loan.
Evatt said: "He’s a really talented young player, part of the England Under-21 set-up, who’s excellent with the ball, athletic enough to cope and defend one-on-one in large spaces. He’s played for Manchester City, which probably speaks volumes for how highly they rate him.
"He went to Huddersfield earlier this season where he didn't perform to his full potential, but part of our transfer policy, really, is to look for players that have a point to prove. After having a loan that didn’t really go to plan for him, he wants to come here and show everybody how good he is.
"We think what we do suits him and vice versa, so we’re looking forward to working with him."
READ NEXT:
