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Manchester City defender Max Alleyne started the week at Watford but ended it scoring in front of 50,000 at the Etihad.
Max Alleyne was in Watford on Monday getting ready for a trip to Bristol City in the FA Cup. By Saturday night he was reflecting on his first two starts for Manchester City in a 'crazy' week that has seen him swap a Championship promotion battle for fighting for the biggest trophies in club football.
The 20-year-old was seen inside the club last year as one of the best defenders in Europe for his age, and he has been one of the few youngsters from City to thrive on loan this season. Playing for Watford gave him defensive challenges that he hadn't experienced before, and he rose to them in a team that have climbed to sixth in the Championship despite a change in manager.
City have four other centre-backs on loan this season, including a Treble winner in Manu Akanji and a £29.4m signing in Vitor Reis, yet when scans confirmed a broken leg for Josko Gvardiol and a hamstring injury for Ruben Dias, it was Vicarage Road that the Blues turned to . Alleyne was shuttled back to Manchester by Monday night, started in the Premier League on Wednesday after one training session and then scored his first goal for the club in the FA Cup on Saturday in a gamble that has paid early dividends.
"I've really enjoyed it. Last week's been kind of crazy, but I've really enjoyed every second I've been back and, yes, it was good to win today, so that's the main thing," he said after the Exeter thrashing.
"Obviously Wednesday was disappointing with the result but, from my side of things, I think good but can always be better. There are little things that I look at with the coaches and stuff like that. I'm always trying to improve.
"The last week has been crazy. Of course I enjoyed it [at Watford] but this is the biggest club in the world, in my opinion, so when they say you're coming back, that was it. I enjoyed it and that was that."
Alleyne is still finding his feet back at his parent club. With his family down south, he is currently staying at the training ground as he has jumped straight into City's busy schedule. Nathan Ake has been a particular help to get him used to the team, while Pep Guardiola showed some footage of Alleyne in a team meeting before Brighton to give his new teammates an idea of what they could expect.
With just two other centre-backs available, the opportunities will keep on coming for Alleyne. And with games in four competitions this month, the thought of what could be possible is not lost on a young player who has helped City to keep their expectations for the season after the panic in early January.
"We're in every competition and the aim is to win everything. That's always been my mentality. It was at Watford as well, to win the league and get promoted. So it's the same thing here, just win as much as possible."
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