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Santino Ohanaka has caught the eye in pre season, but will he get a chance in Exeter City's first team this year?

Highlights

While you should never read too much into pre-season friendly results or line-ups, it’s always fun to see some of the younger players getting a go with the first team.

At Exeter City, this is a regular occurrence and there’s always a bit of a clamour to get a look at the youngsters coming through the academy and who might be the next big thing.

We were treated to some new faces in the Grecians’ pre-season games this season, with the 15-year-old Louie Cayless, and Liam Oakes, who’s two years his senior, getting good reviews from boss Gary Caldwell.

But one youngster who stood out for pure entertainment-value alone was the left-winger Santino Ohanaka.

Few had heard much about the 17-year-old before a couple of cameos off the bench in City’s pre-season, most notably in the 3-1 win over Yeovil.

He ran at defenders and was a bag of tricks, pulling off flip flaps, cut backs, step overs, showing electric feet, heading for the byline and cutting inside.

But, unlike a lot of raw flair players, he had some end product and set up a goal for Josh Magennis against Mousehole before winning and converting a penalty in some style against Yeovil.

Ohanaka has caught Caldwell's eye

While he’s clearly a long way from the finished product, and that opposition was way below what City will face in the league this year, first-team boss Caldwell admitted Ohanaka has certainly given him something to think about.

Asked about the left-winger after the Mousehole game, he said: "It’s great to see the young players we unearth, like Jake Richards last year here.

"I said to the young boys, ‘Whenever you get the chance to train with us, to play with us, you have to leave an impression and show that you’re a good footballer.'

"I thought all of them today showed their quality, and it was a brilliant cross and there were some great moments from Santino. He showed in one-against-one situations that he’s a real threat.

"He’s someone that’s left a mark on us, as has Oaksey and Louie Cayless who’s a really young player who’s playing with first-team players for the first time.

"These games are great experiences for them, and hopefully they can take them into next season, whatever team they end up playing in."

City fans were understandably excited because, as good and productive as the academy is, it’s not often we have a player with these kind of attributes coming through.

Your typical City youngster is composed and tidy on the ball, looks to retain possession and give 100% work rate for the team, but Ohanaka has a completely different profile and attributes.

And that’s certainly not a bad thing. The Londoner’s pathway into the City academy is unusual and is part of a slight tilt towards recruiting more players from outside the South West.

He was part of Tottenham’s youth system before being released and was picked up by City after featuring for the Onside Academy in London, a programme that gives unattached youngsters in the capital a platform to showcase their skills, get quality coaching and ultimately get back into the game.

Under Paul Tisdale, the side was focused on possession with an emphasis on trying to grind your opponents down while it was safety first during Matt Taylor's reign.

Flair players have been a true commodity at St James Park in the last couple of decades and probably beyond.

Norwich were interested in Ohanaka transfer

City fans are rightly excited about Ohanaka and it feels like he’s got a big future in the game.

He seems to have his head screwed on and is said to have turned down an offer from Norwich to head to EX4, and it could be a decision that sees him in first-team action sooner rather than later.

The Carabao Cup could be an option and you’d certainly fancy he’d feature in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy this term.

He looks a completely different option to anyone else in the squad and with the serious injury to Yanic Wildschut and Demetri Mitchell's return still weeks away, those absences could give him a pathway into a League One matchday squad early in the season and that's a really mouth-watering prospect for City fans.