New Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell warned English
teenagers they could risk their careers signing for Manchester City.
Rodwell joined Sunderland on Monday, ending his fruitless
two-year stint at City after just 16 appearances in the Premier League, and the
23-year-old wants his experience to serve as a cautionary tale to the next
generation of English footballers.
The midfielder is one in a long list of young Englishmen,
who have struggled to establish themselves at Etihad Stadium, with Micah
Richards and Scott Sinclair still there, while the likes of Adam Johnson and
Daniel Sturridge have left to enjoy greater success elsewhere.
Rodwell denies it is all about nationality at City but
admits he would be reluctant to recommend that a young player signs with the
reigning Premier League champions.
"I would probably say don't sign now, I'd say get
as much football as you can," he said on Friday.
"The first thing I'd ask is, 'how good are you?' You
just never know – you could go there, do really well and be winning league
titles and everything. But just because you're English and young it doesn't
mean you're not going to play for Manchester City.
"I would just say weigh up your options and ask
yourself if you want to be playing regularly."
Rodwell signed for City in 2012, just after they won
their first Premier League title, having spent the previous five campaigns in
Everton's first-team squad, although he never started more than 17 league games
in a season due in part to a combination of injury issues.
After a tough couple of years in Manchester that included
regular hamstring injuries, the Merseyside-born midfielder has moved to
Sunderland to revitalise his career.
Rodwell has joined former City team-mate Johnson on
Wearside, with the latter having played 71 Premier League matches over the past
two seasons.
According to Rodwell, that kind of game-time could see
him break back into England's national team set-up.
"If I'd been playing regularly for the last two
years, I believe I probably would have been there," he said.
"I certainly think I would have been playing at the
World Cup."
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