Manchester City breezed past Huddersfield Town on Sunday in the FA Cup – and there was another exciting performance from Oscar Bobb.
Bobb was handed a chance to show what he can do by Pep Guardiola, starting on the right wing.
Bobb has mostly been making cameo appearances for City this term, and this was just his third start of the campaign so far and so, he will have wanted to make a big impression.
He really did that, and was responsible for the third goal with his cross deflected in.
Bobb was lively throughout and linked up really well with the players around him such as fellow former academy stars Rico Lewis and the brilliant Phil Foden.
It was a display that definitely raised his stock further and at one point, BBC pundit Leon Osman gave him a very big compliment indeed…
Leon Osman there is something quite rare about the way Oscar Bobb plays for Manchester City
Osman was on commentary for the game on Sunday and rather enjoyed Bobb’s performance, just like many City fans.
The starlet played a full game and was a real livewire. He was unfortunate not to finish the game with an actual goal to his name, although everyone knows the third goal was thanks to him.
Bobb was seeking a through ball in the 84th minute that didn’t quite fall for him. He tried to take the pass from Sergio Gomez and turn, but a defender managed to get a foot in and the ball just trickled back to the goalkeeper.
But Osman was impressed with the desire to turn in a tight space and the pundit thinks the 20-year-old plays with a level of awareness that a lot of players simply don’t have.
He said (BBC iPlayer): “He has a good awareness of what’s around him, Oscar Bobb. When he needs to lay the ball off, and when he can take the ball on his back foot. The spaces that he’s operating in, he does play in a real 360 arena. The awareness of what’s all around him. It’s not a type of thing that all players on the pitch can do.”
Bobb has world-class potential
City fans are rightly extremely excited about Oscar Bobb, who was hailed as ‘an incredible threat’ by Pep Guardiola after the game. As are his teammates, with Erling Haaland branding him ‘class’ after the win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
It’s a fairly small sample size so far, but he is very clearly a young player with enormous potential and someone who already looks very comfortable in a first-team City shirt.
Bobb’s technical ability is remarkable for one so young. As Osman noticed against Huddersfield, his awareness of things around him, and the ability to take the ball in tight spaces, is just wonderful to watch.
The 20-year-old was recently branded a cross between Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez by Neil Lennon, and he definitely has traits of both of those players.
City fans have been treated to some sensational wingers over the last decade or so, and yet another one is very much emerging at the Etihad.
