US international and former New York City FC midfielder Mix Diskerud signed a multi-year contract with Manchester City on Saturday, but there appears to be little chance of him seeing action for Pep Guardiola’s runaway English Premier League leaders, according to multiple reports.
Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation, ESPNFC’s Jeff Carlisle reports that Diskerud “will not train with City's first team, nor will he be loaned out to another City Football Group affiliate” and that he “would train with the club's reserves but is not expected to ever play in a game” for the Manchester side, with a loan move to another team to be arranged in the near future.
British-based journalists made similar reports, noting that CFG, parent company of Manchester City, NYCFC and several other affiliated clubs around the globe, could help the Norwegian-American playmaker stay fit and line up a new destination, whether a loan or a permanent sale elsewhere.
One of NYCFC’s showcase acquisitions ahead of their 2015 MLS expansion debut, Diskerud scored the first goal in franchise history in their first match and totaled three goal and one assist in the team’s frustrating first season under Jason Kreis.
But his role shrank under coach Patrick Vieira in 2016 and he was sent to Sweden’s IFK Goteborg on a year-long loan last season, with New York City buying out his MLS contract to clear him off their 2017 salary budget. Diskerud scored five goals in 29 appearances on loan as IFK finished midtable in the Allsvenskan.
At the time of the buyout, MLSsoccer.com’s Sam Stejskal reported that despite the salary budget move, Diskerud remained under contract through 2018. But Carlisle’s ESPNFC report cites a source who indicated that Diskerud’s contract with NYCFC has been terminated.
Diskerud has scored six goals in 38 career caps for the US national team and made Jurgen Klinsmann’s 2014 World Cup team, though he did not appear in the tournament. He last played for the US in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at Guatemala on March 25, 2016.
