Man City given green light to re-sign schoolboy they were forced to release at the end of last season as punishment for ‘tapping him up’
Boy's parents were preparing to take the case to a tribunal, but the Premier League have now backed down
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MANCHESTER CITY have re-signed a schoolboy they were forced to release over claims they "tapped him up".
The Premier League have backed down after ordering the club to release the boy, then aged 11, at the end of last season.
City were found to have broken new rules to safeguard players from being "poached".
But after pressure from the boy's own parents who were preparing to take the case to tribunal, the Premier League are set to allow the north west club to register him at their academy, according to .
He is already training with the Premier League leaders.
The deal for the youngster, a midfielder signed from Everton, was one of three that were scrutinised by bosses at the top level.
It also found that a 15-year-old midfielder from Wolves was not signed in the correct way.
But they were "allowed to keep him to keep until he completed his GCSEs in order not to disrupt his education."
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The signing of goalkeeper Louie Moulden, then aged 15, was deemed to have satisfied the requirements.
In May last year City were handed a two-year transfer ban on signing academy players from other Premier League or EFL clubs, with the second year suspended for three years.
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They were also fined £300,000.
The investigation was part of the new "five-step process" introduced last July to ensure transfers between Category One academies are above board.
Liverpool were fined £100,000 and given a two-year ban - the second of which was suspended - for tapping up an 11-year-old at Stoke earlier this month.
The Reds' case left the youngster's parents in thousands of pounds of debt and the player, 13, cannot join another academy until his former club Stoke are paid £49,000.