An unexpected face is in camp for New York City FC's inaugural preseason, with Manchester City Elite Development Squad (U-21) defender Shay Facey playing with the expansion club this week in Jacksonville, Florida.
While NYCFC will have the opportunity to bring in up to four players on loan from Manchester City, there are no immediate plans for the 21-year-old Facey to join New York for the upcoming MLS season.
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Facey, a Manchester native who plays both centrally and as a right back, is working on preseason fitness with NYCFC following an injury and is expected to return to the Manchester City EDS, according to NYCFC.
During his six-month stay in England last winter, NYCFC coach Jason Kreis said the expansion club will have the opportunity to bring in up to four players on loan from the Manchester City squads.
“We will have the ability to take four players on loan from the club here, so I’m looking a lot at the younger players, and the U-18s and the U-21s at the moment,” Kreis said.
Facey was a vice-captain of the Manchester City EDS squad in the 2013-14 season and made 34 appearances in all competitions a year ago. He signed a new two-year contract with Manchester City in April.
A former England Under-17 international, Facey joined the Manchester City first team on its preseason tour of South Africa in 2013. He made his debut against SuperSport United in Johannesburg that July.
He is expected to train with NYCFC for the entirety of their Jacksonville trip, which will conclude on Feb. 2. He’s likely to rejoin Manchester City’s EDS team when NYCFC begin a camp in Manchester on Feb. 6.
NYCFC are scheduled to train in Manchester through Feb. 16, with exhibition matches scheduled for Feb. 10 and Feb. 15. The club will then compete in the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston, South Carolina before opening its inaugural Major League Soccer campaign on March 8 at Orlando City SC.
