Ian Carlo Poveda-Ocampo (born 9 February 2000) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or a winger for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

and the Colombia national team. He is a product of the Manchester City,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and Brentford

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

s and has been capped by England at youth level.

Club career

Poveda started his career in the academy at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, where he was part of the same age group as

Rhian Brewster Rhian Joel Brewster (born 1 April 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Sheffield United. In 2017, he was part of the England squad which won the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India and was awarded the Golde ...

, Marc Guéhi,

Conor Gallagher Conor John Gallagher (born 6 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team. Beginning his career with Chelsea, Gallagher spent time on loan at EFL ...

and

Reece James Reece James may refer to: * Reece James (footballer, born 1993), English footballer born in Bacup, Lancashire * Reece James (footballer, born 1999), English footballer born in Redbridge, London See also * James Reece (disambiguation) * Rhys James ...

, before being poached by Arsenal and then

. Poveda was reported to have had a brief spell with Malaga-based side Puerto Malagueno between his stints at Arsenal and Barcelona, but did not play for, or officially register, with them.

Brentford

Poveda joined the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

at Brentford during the 2014 off-season, having left Barcelona due to the club being prosecuted for signing minors illegally. He was a member of the U15 squad which finished as runners-up in the Junior Vase at the 2015

Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area o ...

and progressed to make 15 appearances and score three goals for the youth team during the 2015–16 season, which also included three appearances for the Development Squad. Poveda departed Brentford in July 2016, due to the closure of the club's academy.

Manchester City

On 18 July 2016, Poveda joined the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee and commenced a two-year scholarship. He was a member of the U18 team which finished as runners-up to

in the

2016–17 FA Youth Cup The 2016–17 FA Youth Cup was the 65th edition of the FA Youth Cup. The defending champions were Chelsea and they retained the trophy for the fourth year in a row after a 6–2 aggregate victory over Manchester City in the final. Calendar Q ...

. Poveda took part in Manchester City's First Team's pre-season tour of the United States in the summer of 2018. After five EFL Trophy appearances and two goals for the U21 team during the first half of the 2018–19 season, Poveda made his senior debut for the club with a start in a 1–0 EFL Cup semi-final second leg win over

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

on 23 January 2019. Poveda was named on the bench for Manchester City in their 3–1 EFL Cup victory over

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in October 2019, with Pep Guardiola personally apologising for not bringing Poveda on after the game, with the midfielder set to come on before a goal from Southampton changed his in-game substitution. In November 2019, Poveda was called up to the Manchester City squad for their Champions League fixture against

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

. In January 2020, Poveda held talks with

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

and

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

, with contact also from

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 1 ...

ahead of a possible move in the January window.

Leeds United

On 24 January 2020, Poveda signed for Leeds United on a four-and-a-half year contract until the end of the 2023–24 season for an undisclosed fee and was assigned the number 7 shirt, with Poveda stating he was very excited to work under his new manager

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

. He made his Leeds debut on 21 June 2020 as a second-half substitute in a 2–0

defeat at Cardiff City. After the English professional football season was paused in March 2020 due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to association football (also known as soccer) across the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Across the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postpon ...

, the season was resumed during June, where Poveda earned promotion with Leeds to the

and also become the EFL Championship Champions for the 2019–20 season in July after the successful resumption of the season. His first start of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season came on 16 September 2020 for

Leeds in a 1–1 draw against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in the EFL Cup. He made his Premier League debut in a 1-0 away win over

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

on 27 September 2020. Poveda featured sixteen times for Leeds throughout the 2020–21 season.

Loan to Blackburn Rovers

On 23 August 2021, Poveda joined Championship club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on a season-long loan. Poveda scored his first senior goal of his career on 6 November, scoring the equaliser in an eventual 3–1 home win over

. On 20 November, Poveda was taken off in the 44th minute of Blackburn’s 1-1 draw with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

after sustaining an injury to his left ankle. Blackburn later confirmed that following a scan, Poveda suffered both a fracture and ligament damage in his left ankle which will likely see the player ruled out for a significant amount of time.

Loan to Blackpool

On 27 August 2022, Poveda joined Championship side Blackpool on a season-long loan. On 16 March, Poveda scored his first goal for Blackpool in new manager

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...

's first win as manager.

Loan to Sheffield Wednesday

On 1 February 2024, Poveda joined Championship side

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his debut the follwing weekend in the 4–0 defeat against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

, coming off the bench.

International career

Poveda is eligible to play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and Colombia at international level. He won his maiden call into the England U16 squad in August 2015. He was a member of the 2015 Nike International Tournament-winning squad. He was a member of the U17 squad which won the 2016 Croatia Cup. In March 2018, Poveda received his first international call-up for 18 months, for U18 friendlies versus

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and a mixed-age

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

team. He appeared in each match and scored three goals. He also graduated to the U19 team in 2018. On 4 October 2019, Poveda was included in the

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...

squad for the first time and made his debut as a 72nd-minute substitute during a 2–2 draw away to Italy in the U20 Elite League. In December 2023 Poveda was called up for the Colombia national team for the first time.

Personal life

Poveda was born in London, England, to Colombian parents. During his youth years, he played youth tournaments for Southwark schoolboys alongside

Jadon Sancho Jadon Malik Sancho (born 25 March 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Manchester United and the England national team. Widely regarded as one of the best young players in the world, he is known for his ...

and Reiss Nelson who also became professional footballers.

Style of play

Poveda plays predominantly as a winger or a forward, Poveda is capable of playing on both flanks or through the middle as an

or as a

false 9 Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Manchester City's website described his style as 'Nimble and fleet-footed', with the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' describing him as having 'trickery and an eye for goal'. Poveda describes himself as 'an attacking player, I can play right wing, left wing or in attacking midfield, I like to dribble with the ball, link up the play, score goals, create chances, assist and I work hard for the team'. Poveda said in December 2019 that

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, S ...

was a big brother figure to him at Manchester City helping him with positioning and advice in training.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Leeds United * EFL Championship: 2019–20

International

England U16 * Nike International Tournament: 2015 England U17 * Croatia Cup: 2016

References

External links

*
Ian Carlo Poveda
at the

Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...

website
Ian Carlo Poveda
at TheFA.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poveda, Ian Carlo 2000 births Living people English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Chelsea F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players FC Barcelona players Brentford F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players English people of Colombian descent Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark People from Southwark English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Premier League players English Football League players Colombia men's international footballers