Hot-shot Harry out to follow in dad’s bootprints

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK . . . Harry Bunn (left), and his dad, Frank

HARRY Bunn will aim to keep up the family tradition of causing a big splash in the cup on Monday night.

The son of Athletic legend Frank, Harry (18) is a striker, just like his father was.

And this chip off the old block is currently making waves in the youth team at Manchester City.

Bunn junior, a former Saddleworth School pupil who first joined City's academy at the age of nine, is set to take his place in the Blues’ youth squad which travels to take on his home-town club Athletic in the third round of the FA Youth Cup on Monday night (7pm kick-off).

With the likes of Abdisalam Ibrahim, Federic Veseli, Alex Nimely and Greg Cunningham — now on loan at Leicester — all having made the progression recently from academy to first-team squad at Eastlands, Bunn can see the pathway to follow should his efforts be impressive enough.

City last won the FA Youth Cup in 2008, defeating Chelsea 4-2 on aggregate in the final.

The achievement replicated the club's first-ever lifting of the same trophy in 1986 with a team which included Paul Lake, former Athletic defender Steve Redmond, Andy Hinchcliffe and David White.

Of the cup-winning side of two years ago, Dedryck Boyata in particular has established himself as a first-team contender under City manager Roberto Mancini.

Bringing players through the ranks is only likely to increase in importance with UEFA's new regulations on financial fair play, which ensure that clubs' outgoings match revenue. These come into full force in 2019.

Athletic have more than a few starlets of their own — Carl Winchester, Ryan Burns and Andrew Crompton being perhaps the most advanced in terms of first-team prospects — and will be keen to show their mettle on Monday evening.

Tony Philliskirk and Mick Priest will be confident of providing City's prodigies with a real test, especially having already got past Sheffield Wednesday — like City, a club with a team in the Premier League academy — in the previous round.

A large crowd is expected at Boundary Park and among them will be Harry's dad Frank, who so famously struck six goals for Athletic in a 7-0 Littlewoods Cup thrashing of Scarborough in 1989.