I arrived at Man City with big dreams but I wasn't ready - now it is totally different

Adelaide United vs Manchester City in the summer of 2015 is hardly a friendly that will go down as a core memory of even most of those who were there.

Brandon Barker and Bruno Zuculini may have fond recollections of the game as they scored in a 2-0 win for Manuel Pellegrini's men, in a clash that saw Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri get minutes in their legs. Most of the build-up was dominated by the news of Raheem Sterling's imminent arrival after his £49m signing, flying out after the game to join his new teammates.

The fact that the friendly was a debut for £2m summer signing Enes Unal was not even worthy of mention in most match reports. He is one of many forgotten signings that ultimately arrived with big dreams of making it at City but quickly discovered they had to leave.

ALSO READ: Man City's unwanted role in Manchester Utd's Ruben Amorim appointment could be welcome distraction

ALSO READ: Man City North Stand expansion takes major step forward with new look at Etihad

Unal had signed for around £2m from Bursaspor as an 18-year-old and was given a chance to impress Pellegrini as most of City's senior players took time to return from the summer. In Turkey, his homeland, he had become the youngest ever player to score in the Super Lig and was a full international - but just three weeks after signing for City and three friendlies in Australia later, he was sent out on loan for two years.

Genk were the chosen club, but his loan would only last six months before a switch to NAC Breda was arranged. Nine goals in 11 games was more like it and he built on that with 18 goals in 32 at FC Twente the following season.

"Breda is a beautiful city with good, social people but most importantly of all, I am playing well and scoring goals," he told City's website during that first loan in the Netherlands. "This is the most important thing for my happiness.

"It was nice to come back and train in Manchester at City Football Academy [in January 2016] but I was also a little bit sad to leave again as I want to be there as quickly as possible permanently. I watch City’s games on TV as much as I can.

“I am working hard for my goal: to be a City player and to score goals at the Etihad Stadium. I hope in the near future I can make this happen and that we can win trophies together.”

This is the conundrum of a City youngster, especially those signed from foreign leagues. Do you go out on loan and show your talent, or try and force a way into the first team back in Manchester? Few have successfully cracked the senior squad from Unal's delicate position, but the loan path is hardly a well-trodden route to a senior breakthrough either, especially after Pep Guardiola replaced Pellegrini after Unal's difficult first year at City.

There was another hurdle, too. Unless he was an established Turkey international, getting a work permit through the FA would be difficult before he was 21. The loans were a temporary solution but with no true breakthrough with Turkey, Unal left permanently for Villarreal in 2017 and his dream of playing for City was over.

City made a healthy £10m profit on the deal, including a buy-back clause that was never triggered. Unal would go on to spend three years at Villarreal but most of that was spent out on loan. A £7.5m move to Getafe followed in 2020 where a return to goalscoring form saw him net one in three in more than 100 appearances - form which finally sealed a return to the Premier League last January.

Bournemouth snapped up the striker, first on loan and then permanently when Dominic Solanke left. And he was keen to stress that he was a different player to the one who moved to City briefly nine years previously.

“It’s been a long time. I had just been in pre-seasons with Manchester City, just two months," he told the Bournemouth Echo. “I was 18 and 19 years old, so I was just a young kid.

“It was not so pleasant for me, because it was the first time I was away from my family, from my country. It is totally different now. I feel I am ready. I am developed as a human being and as a player and I think it is the right time.”

He faced his old club in February, almost getting a late equaliser, and he spoke fondly of the reunion - even if no players still remain from his first summer on tour. At the Vitality Stadium, he has notched two goals for the Cherries including one late, late goal to salvage a point against Sheffield United last season.

The 27-year-old has always generated big transfer fees - Bournemouth paid £13m to take his career total to over £34m - and they saw enough last season to believe he can replace some of Solanke's goals. He will hope to kick-start his season on Saturday against City. His progress at the Etihad was stopped by red tape and bad timing - how he would love to prove various people wrong by getting it right at Bournemouth.