Lee Croft is 19 years old, and an England Youth International. He has been with City since June last year, and has been an unused substitute on two occasions. What was probably the most attractive element of the deal for Oldham was that City manager Kevin Keegan has allowed him to appear in both the FA Cup and the LDV Vans.Brian Talbot's frantic scurrying for players to add to his squad ahead of Sunday's FA Cup match against Thurrock has led to him signing Croft on loan. Talbot has six senior players out for the tie, and attempts to bolster his squad with experienced players have been unsuccessful, because many Championship and Premiership clubs do not want their experienced players cup-tied.
So Talbot has turned to youth instead. He was originally reluctant to sign youngsters from other clubs when Athletic have many promising young 'uns who would benefit from the experience of playing in the FA Cup. Lee has said that he "wants to show the Oldham fans what I'm made of". He won't have a better opportunity than on Sunday, when Oldham are on live TV, to impress. And not just Latics fans either.