At only 19 years old, Orlando City U23s and Clemson University Midfielder Paul Clowes has 12 years with English Premier League side Manchester City F.C. on his resume, and has competed against world renowned clubs such as Barcelona, Celtic and Marseille at the reserve-team level.

Clowes’ journey with Manchester City began at age seven, and the midfielder was labeled as a stand-out by 18 years old, granting him advancement into the reserve team. Throughout that 12 year span, Manchester City underwent a substantial transitional phase. An ownership group from Abu Dhabi bought the club- providing funding for premier facilities and world class players.

“A lot of changes happened at Man City during my time there,” said Clowes in an interview with Orlandocitysoccer.com. “When I first went there, City was mid-table. But as the money started coming in, the facilities, coaches and players got much better, and it was a great experience to be a part of it.”

Prior to 2008, Manchester City rarely indulged in the transfer market but the arrival of the new ownership group saw the club’s expenditure of superstars such as Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor. Clowes, who was promoted to the reserve team around that same time-period, had the opportunity to train with these prominent players on a regular basis.

“I was extremely lucky to play with a lot of first team and reserve team players like Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor,” said Clowes. “It was really cool to see how they work and what they do every day to prepare themselves. I spent a lot of time shadowing and tried to emulate them as best as I could.”

However, in 2012, the club released the midfielder after deciding not to offer him a first team contract- yielding an opportunity for Clowes to pursue a career in the United States. After a brief visit to Clemson University in March of 2012, the Englishman decided being a Tiger was the best route to continue his aspirations of playing professionally, while also receiving an education.

In his first season with the Tigers, Clowes started in 19 matches and received multiple offers from Premier Development League (PDL) teams across the nation, but he chose to join the Orlando City U23s due to the style of play.

“Our formation at Clemson is slightly different, but the way we pass the ball and press here is something I’m used to and really like,” stated Clowes. “As a smaller more technical player, I like to get the ball on the floor and I think Paul has done a good job getting us to play that way so far.”

As a former youth academy player, Clowes is also a firm believer in having a complete pyramid system and has taken note of the infrastructure in place at Orlando City.

“I think it’s really important to have players in an Academy system at a very young age,” added Clowes.

“If you can get players into the U23s from the youth teams, and graduate them into the first team, then that creates an emotional connection to the club which will only make the organization that much better in the long run.”