Photo: Timmy96 / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
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Max Alleyne's first appearance for Manchester City last season came with barely 24 hours' notice, after a defensive injury crisis forced the club to cut short his loan spell at Watford.
Injuries to Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones left City short at centre-back, prompting sporting director Hugo Viana to call the 21-year-old the morning after a postponed Championship fixture against Hull.
"My debut was a bit crazy," Alleyne said. "I was at Watford and we had Hull away and about five minutes before kick-off, it gets cancelled. So, from there I go and stay at my partner's place in Lincoln. I wake up the next morning, and I have about 10 missed calls from a random Portuguese phone number – and it's Hugo [Viana]."
Alleyne was back at City by Tuesday and named in the starting XI to face Brighton at the Etihad Stadium. "We played OK, we didn't win the game when we probably should have, but I really enjoyed it. To play at the Etihad was so special," he said.
The defender had to visit an Adidas store in Manchester to buy boots after the club's kit staff had already returned his equipment to Watford. "I had no boots because the kitmen had taken them back down to Watford, so I had nothing. I went to the Adidas shop in town buying boots. It was crazy but if anything I preferred it like that," Alleyne added.
"There was no time to overthink or get nervous about it, it was bang, bang, bang. The whistle went and I enjoyed it."
Alleyne went on to make seven appearances for City in total before opportunities narrowed as senior defenders recovered from injury. He used the period in training to work alongside Dias, Nathan Ake and Stones.
"It's super helpful [having such experience to learn from]," he said. "I need to rely on the players around me more because there's so much talent and experience here."