Man City full-back Tom Galvez is a throwback who can offer Pep Guardiola something different
MEN Sport sat down with Manchester City under-21 left-back Tomas Galvez to discuss international caps, attacking full-backs and breaking into Pep Guardiola’s first team.
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ByJoe BrayManchester City writer
06:00, 3 OCT 2023
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Manchester City’s Tomas Galvez
Manchester City’s Tomas Galvez (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
When Tomas Galvez earned his first full international call-up, he didn’t even realise it for a week.
Born in Watford, Galvez says he is ‘English through and through’ but has represented Finland through his mother from under-13 level all the way up to the senior side.
Also eligible to play for Spain, the Manchester City left-back is in a relatively unique position where he has made his senior debut for his country before any first-team appearance at club level. But that Finland debut nearly didn’t happen.
“The first time I got called up it was an email but I didn’t read it properly,” he tells MEN Sport. “Initially I thought it was a normal under-21 call-up.
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“It took me a week later until I realised. My dad called me and said ‘Tomas, you do realise you’ve been called up to the first team.’ That was when I realised and looked back at the email and it said the official men’s team. At first I thought it was the under-21s. I was ready to go to the under-21s. I was over the moon.”
After turning up to the right squad, Galvez made his senior international debut for Finland against Sweden last year, joining former City teammate Shea Charles in a small group of youngsters with the remarkable achievement of playing for his country before a full club debut.
“That was amazing, first walking out onto the pitch,” he recalls. “It’s the moments you dream of as a kid making your debut for the first team. Obviously making my debut for the first team for my country before my club is something you don’t see often. It was a special feeling.
“It was a choice to play for Finland. I got called up for the Finland team when I was 12 or 13. Ever since then I just enjoyed it. The people there, I’ve got friends there. Right now, for my development it’s good to stay with the Finnish team.
“Spain was an option as well. If you look at it for my career-wise, I’m trying to break through as quickly as I can. I spoke to my agents, family, people around me. They all agreed that Finland is potentially one of the best opportunities I’ve got right now.
“England is stereotypically the harder country to get into for obvious reasons, for me Finland is the right option right now. The future will tell what happens.
“My mum loves it. It gives her a reason to go back to Finland when there’s an international break. I’ve got loads of family in Finland who are very supportive. They love coming to watch me play in Finland.”
Back at City, and Galvez has stepped up permanently to the under-21s this season after an exodus of players permanently or on loan over the summer.
“He’s a different profile as a full-back to what we’ve seen recently,” says EDS coach Brian Barry-Murphy. “Rico [Lewis] is a poster boy of the academy because of how good he is and a full-back who can play inside. He’s synonymous with Pep and the fullback positions like he used at Bayern Munich.
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“Tom is probably a little bit different in terms of an attacking full-back who can create a numerical advantage in the final third and score.”
Galvez agrees. “I love getting forward,” he says.
“That’s one of my trademarks. I love going down the wing, making overlaps and crosses, that’s one of my strengths.
“I’ve also been left centre back at times. It’s what the manager wants. Pep’s system he wants full-backs inside. I can do that. It depends on the game, there’s matches playing against a five and we might play a full-back inside. It depends the game you play but I can play inverted as well.”
Galvez says he is stronger ‘mentally as well as physically’ for a campaign last season that saw him split his time between the under-18s and under-21s, meaning he played regularly across a number of competitions.
“It’s created the player I am now,” he insists. “Now I’m under 21s and I’ve conquered it. I played a bit of 21s in my first season, I’m ready to win the league again.”
Personally, Galvez is backing himself to add a City debut to his Finland cap. According to his manager, his attacking instincts and old-fashioned full-back traits give him a unique chance of catching Pep Guardiola’s eye if the manager comes calling.
“Our job is to provide the next thing and not be complacent and think we have to produce another Rico,” Barry-Murphy explained. “Tomas is different.
“We always have to be putting in the eyeline of the manager the next one who doesn’t have to be the same, something different. Before you know it if he’s playing Jack and wants an attacking full-back and he says where’s the next attacking full-back, Tom is capable of doing that and Kane Taylor is the same.
“For Tom it’s about getting some real consistency in improving his all-round game but his outstanding qualities is his ability to attack and create situations in the final third which is still beneficial as a full-back, even though we haven’t seen it recently.”
“That’s the aim,” Galvez says of a senior call-up at City. “I saw one of my friends, Micah Hamilton on the bench for the first team the other day [at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup]. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Fingers crossed. I can see it happening, hopefully I’ll get my time.”
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