There is no doubting Noah Ohio’s determination.
The young forward walked out on Manchester United to join Manchester City and then turned down a contract on the Blue side of town to sign for RB Leipzig.
And the erudite 19-year-old believes he made the right decision.
Ohio says: “I had seen how some other players around my age had developed abroad – people like Jadon Sancho, who left City for Borussia Dortmund.
“I was 16 at the time and obviously I wasn’t going to go straight from the academy to first-team football.
“I could have continued at City and maybe I’d be the best player in the under-18s and so on, but I felt my development would be better if I was playing against men.”
Ohio worked under Julian Nagelsmann and current Leeds manager Jesse Marsch at Leipzig, while also training with such names as Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano and Christopher Nkunku.
Last summer, following a temporary move to Dutch side Vitesse, it was decided that Ohio would go out on loan once again.
And, instead of taking the familiar route between RB Leipzig and Red Ball Salzburg, he instead headed to Austria Wien in the country’s capital.
The club has endured financial difficulties, meaning they had to let several of their better-paid players leave.
However, a young squad, led by Manfred Schmid, are fourth in the league and challenging for a place in Europe, with Ohio making 27 appearances so far this season.
But life in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities is a long way from his early days in Almere in the Netherlands.
Noah Ohio of the Netherlands together with Xavi Simons during the Netherlands U-19 v Australia U-20 match. 25-03-2022. Rat Verlegh Stadium, Breda, Netherlands.
The son of Nigerian parents, Ohio began his career at FC Almere, where he was spotted by Manchester United at a local junior football tournament.
Offered a deal to join the Reds’ academy at just 10 years old, Ohio, his parents and two sisters headed to Manchester.
“My English wasn’t…