Leeds United’s Ian Poveda aiming to follow in footsteps of former Manchester City team-mate Jadon Sancho

It arrives in the shape of his good friend in England international Jadon Sancho, raised in the same area of South London and someone whose footballing story first took him to Manchester City.

Just as Sancho took a risk to leave City and strike out at a famous footballing name in Borussia Dortmund in 2017, so Poveda is seeking to take his chance at another big club in Leeds.

If Poveda’s own tale proves half as special as Sancho’s, then he and no-one connected with Leeds will be complaining.

Poveda, whose debut from the bench was one of the few positives to take from Sunday’s loss at Cardiff, said: “We absolutely have a good friendship and talk, although he is busy and I am as well. But when we talk, I have always got love for him.

“I told him I am really proud of what he has done and he has come from the bottom and he is from the same area as me and I have loved to see him go and achieve it because everything he is done is pure hard work. That motivates me as well.

“To be fair, everyone’s paths are different. His path was to leave City and develop at Dortmund which led to him being the star that he is right now. My path is different.

“I stayed at City and was learning off a great coach and a great academy with great players around me and I was taking all that in. It was (then) my time to leave and come to Leeds, which is a really great club and to keep learning and improving.”

Poveda’s debut may have been somewhat belated, with the 20-year-old joining in January, but he insists he has no issue with that and believes he has learned plenty under the astute coaching of Marcelo Bielsa – who he feels has made him a better player.

He said: “Regarding my debut I feel like it was bittersweet. Obviously the result wasn’t the best, but I’m really grateful for the opportunity the manager gave me.

“Regarding my performance I feel like I have a lot more to offer. I’m excited to keep improving and keep showing what I can do.

“Coming to Leeds, I feel like I’ve already improved so much. It’s what I came here to do, to improve as a player, help the team get promotion, get Leeds back to the top where they should be.”

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