City announced a new deal for teenage prospect Zane Okoro last week, bringing an end to the speculation surrounding his future.
Was he going to Bournemouth or Fulham? That seemed to be the big question as we lost two other players, Paudie O’Connor and Sean Roughan. However, of the three, Zane probably has the highest ceiling in terms of potential fee, and instead of heading off to the barren wastelands of the Under 21 scene, he chose to stay here.
That must come with a certain promise on his future. He will want something; his agent will have surely indicated that the player needs something in his future, but what is that? I look at the likeliest scenarios for Zane Okoro in 2025/26.
Stay Put
The first, obvious choice is for Zane to stay put. He got around 150 minutes last season, the bulk of which came in his outing against Manchester City Under 21s in the EFL Trophy. In that time, he scored a goal, again against Man City, but also helped create our fourth against Chesham in the FA Cup in an explosive introduction to senior football.
His two league appearances amounted to 46 minutes and, in truth, neither were anything to write home about. That might be a touch unfair – the Shrewsbury draw wasn’t our proudest moment, and the final day Wrexham game was very different to the other 45.
The first thing I’m sure we should consider is that he stays with us and plays a part in the first six months. That means three Vertu Trophy starts. That means a cameo or ten from the bench in the league, and maybe a League Cup run out. Zane feels versatile; his attributes are suited to being a centre forward, but also playing wide in the three-man attack we have. There is no pressure for him to break through, which might be the best time for him to actually do so.
National League Loan
‘But he’s better than that,’ etc. Of course, if we were to loan him to Boston or even Peterborough Sports, it would feel like a bit of an underwhelming choice. We want him near our first team, and so to see him turning out against the likes of Scarborough Athletic, Truro City or Scunthorpe next season might not appeal to fans.
It should. If we arranged that loan for him, either of the National League levels, then he’d get regular 90 minutes in men’s football. Remember, he is only 17 right now, so he could have a season acclimatising in the lower echelons of the pyramid, getting vital experience of senior football.
There is another huge benefit to him going to that level – we could play him in the Vertu Trophy. Players on loan in the National League can be brought back, which is how players like MJ Kamara and Oisin Gallagher got minutes in red and white last season.
I think this is the sort of loan we’ll look at for Charlie Parks and Gbolahan Okewoye, but Zane? If he is heading out on loan, my preference would be this.
Football League Loan
The final option would be an EFL loan, and one would imagine that would be League Two if at all. The benefit is obvious – a higher level of football – but would it be beneficial for him? In my eyes, a loan to that level is about proving yourself. Rob Street and Freddie Draper went to that level to prove what they could do, but one had EFL experience already, the other had done his time in ‘lower’ loans.
Zak Bradshaw, Jay Benn, Zach Elbouzedi and a number of others went there not particularly to develop but to show they were ready to step up. They weren’t, and they left. I don’t think we’d look at this level of loan for Zane without complete confidence he’d get minutes. Look at Charley Kendall – loaned into League Two and went from being our hot young thing to having a question mark over his head, and all because (in my opinion) Sutton’s system didn’t suit him.
No, a League Two loan would feel like a risk, especially if he ended up not getting minutes. He’d be better served staying with us than taking a single division step down.
Conclusion
I’m not sure what will happen with Zane. In small patches, we’ve seen what his is capable of, and those minutes against Manchester City’s finest youth players really impressed me. The danger is we keep him, give him ten minutes here and there, and some fans begin to feel a bit like they did towards Jovon – ambiguous at best.
Like Jovon, Zane is a young player who will, of course, need time to develop. However, where that development is best served is the big question. I’d like to see him around the first team squad for six months, in the EFL Trophy matches and available for other games. If he starts against Man Utd U21s and scores twice, he deserves a shot in the league. If he’s at Boston on loan, he won’t get that chance at following up a good performance.
That said, when the winter window comes, matches are a priority, and if he hasn’t exploded onto the scene in six months, rather begun to ease himself into the squad, then a loan and a run of minutes, at any level, seems sensible.
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