PLAYER PROFILE

Nedum Onuoha

Position: Defence

Height: 6'2

Weight: 12st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1986-11-12 Warri, Nigeria

Nedum Onuoha

Manchester City youngster Nedum Onuoha made his Barclays Premiership debut for Manchester City in a 1-1 home draw with Norwich City.

The 18-year-old, who had only recently signed professional terms with the Citizens, broke into the team and never looked back in 2004/05, making 18 appearances all in all.

He told the club's official website: "I know competition with be tougher now as I am in a bigger pool of players and I will have to show what I am worth.

"I am a competitive person but at the same time I wouldn't want to take it too far.

"I know playing in defence that you need that killer instinct and that is something in my game that I need to develop more.

"I think it is a case of learning to concentrate for the whole 90 minutes of a game."

He continued to impress in 2005/06, despite picking up a red card in the Carling Cup exit to Doncaster. However, his season was cut short in February by a serious knee injury.

He recovered from this in 2006/07 to become a useful utility player for the Citizens, and maintained this form in 2007/08. However, injuries struck again the following season, meaning that he did not play regularly until Christmas 2008. He won his place back in the team after that though, and continued to be an important member of the City side under Mark Hughes.