Who is Brandon Barker? The ex-Man City player set to feature in Man Utd vs Omonia Europa League clash

Manchester United travel to GSP Stadium to take on Omonia in their third Europa League Group E game.

The Red Devils sit second in the group after two matches, winning 2-0 against Sheriff and falling to 1-0 to Real Sociedad in their opening game.

As for Omonia, they are without a win in their first two group-stage games and will be looking to cause an upset on home soil.

One player who will be hoping to help with that is former Manchester City academy graduate Brandon Barker.

The 26-year-old joined the Cypriot side on a two-year deal in the summer following his short-term stint with Reading.

Who is Brandon Barker?

Born in Manchester on 4 October 1996, Barker is a former England youth international having represented the Young Lions at Under-20, U19 and U18 level.

The winger began his career at City, joining their academy at the age of eight and won their Academy Players’ Player of the Year award for his performances in the 2013-14 season.

He spent a month on loan at Rotherham United in late 2015, making four appearances for the club, scoring once, before returning to the Sky Blues.

Barker made his first team debut for City in their 5-1 FA Cup defeat to Chelsea in February 2016, coming on as a second half substitute for Bersant Celina.

The 26-year-old spent the majority of his Sky Blues’ career away from the Etihad Stadium, with three loan spells at three different clubs between the 2016-17 season and the 2018-19 campaign.

He joined Rangers in August 2019 on a free transfer following his release from City and won the SPFL title with the club in 2021.

Barker spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan at Oxford United, where he scored 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and registering four assists.

The winger left Rangers by mutual consent on 31 January and joined Reading 15 days later on a short-term deal until the end of last season.

He was among nine first team arrivals at Omonia this summer under manager Neil Lennon.

Current form

Since his arrival at Omonia Barker has made seven appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring once in their Europa League qualifying round first leg against Gent.

He played 73 minutes in their 3-0 defeat to Sheriff in their opening group-stage fixture, but was an unused substitute against Sociedad.

Likelihood of him starting against United

Barker featured in Omonia’s last league fixture on Saturday in a 2-0 win against Doxa Katokopias, coming on as a second half substitute with 17 minutes remaining.

It’s expected he’ll be in the matchday squad for Thursday’s clash with United and looks set to play a cameo from the bench.