Bristol City manager Liam Manning is expecting striker Fally Mayulu to return to Ashton Gate for pre-season after a loan spell away at Sturm Graz.
Mayulu moved to England from Austrian side Rapid Wien last summer, and despite the 22-year-old scoring in both of his first two games in red and white, he struggled for minutes and goals from then on, only starting one of City’s next 21 games.
After starting against Premier League opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup, Mayulu was left out of the next three matchday squads, before he made a temporary move back to Austria with Sturm Graz.
However, his loan move hasn’t worked out as planned, with the striker making just two appearances for the Austrian outfit due to injury.
Manning Still Has Faith
Speaking to Bristol Live, Manning shared an update on the Frenchman:
“He’s unfortunate with his injury, so I’ll speak to him in the summer, see how he is, and I’ll expect him back here pre-season.
“When you’re signing someone, there’s an expectation that they should come in, hit the ground firing, and you want it straight away and now.
“You have to remember again how young he is. I know he looks so imposing physically, but moving away from home and doing those things for someone that’s actually really young is quite challenging. Ultimately, he’s a potential risk purely because of the fact you’re signing him on potential as much as current performance. We always try to weigh the two up, and Fally’s got some really interesting attributes.
“He’s technically very good, his size, and he can move. It’s probably impatience on both ends from everybody wanting everything now, which, when you’re in the market we’re in, very rarely are we signing players who are ready to go now, and that’s why sometimes you have to be a little bit patient with them.”
Writer’s View
Whilst Mayulu hasn’t had the best of seasons, Manning is right in terms of giving new players time. Not only was the 22-year-old new to the club, but he was also new to the country, meaning the young striker needs time to settle down in a new environment.
The two goals he scored at the beginning of the season show us what he is capable of. But, unfortunately, he joined City at a time when Manning was under pressure and when they needed results to continue their play-off campaign, rather than being a time in which there wasn’t as much on the line, like there normally is at Bristol City.
