Ah, Scott Sinclair. A victim of City’s lust for homegrown players.

"I'm just glad everything is settled and I'm now a City player... I can't wait to get started,” were the famous (as per BBC Sport) last words of former Manchester City flop Scott Sinclair, whose playing career at the club never quite matched his lofty ambitions.

Perhaps the thing that makes Scott Sinclair’s tale of crushed dreams at Manchester City so utterly tragic was that the same beginning, middle and end had panned out years before at Chelsea, where he was introduced at the tender age of 16 as an incredibly bright prospect, endured six loan spells away from club and painfully sporadic first-first appearances, before leaving the club for Swansea after four years. He certainly is not the first to suffer that fate at Stamford Bridge and he will not be the last.

However, like a phoenix risen from the ashes, Scott Sinclair made his way back up the footballing ladder once more, and after a very positive couple of seasons under Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup in Wales, booked himself a one-way ticket to dreamland in 2012, signing for City for an estimated £8 million.

While the more sceptical amongst assumed that the transfer represented a blatant attempt by Roberto Mancini and Manchester City to fill City’s dwindling homegrown quota, the player was likely full of spirits as he prepared to play alongside some of the greatest talents in the Premier League.

And that is exactly what he did…for a combined total of 193 minutes, spread out over a period of two seasons (*cough* homegrown *cough* quota *cough*).

Pathetic, really; but it came as no surprise. The Manchester-based club did not even play with wingers at the time so how he thought he was going to breakthrough is beyond us.

Manchester City fans, do you think Scott Sinclair is one of your most pointless signings? Join the discussion by commenting below…