Ian Poveda

Ian Carlo Poveda-Ocampo (born 9 February 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Nacional. Born in England, he plays for the Colombia national team.

He is a product of the Manchester City, Barcelona and Brentford youth systems and has been capped by England at youth level.

Club career Poveda started his career in the academy at Chelsea, where he was part of the same age group as Rhian Brewster, Marc Guéhi, Conor Gallagher and Reece James, Poveda was reported to have had a brief spell with Malaga-based side Puerto Malagueno between his stints at Arsenal and Barcelona, but did not play for, or officially register, with them.

Brentford Poveda joined the academy at Brentford during the 2014 off-season, having left Barcelona due to the club being prosecuted for signing minors illegally. which also included three appearances for the Development Squad. Poveda departed Brentford in July 2016,

Manchester City On 18 July 2016, Poveda joined the academy at Premier League club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee and commenced a two-year scholarship. He was a member of the U18 team which finished as runners-up to Chelsea in the 2016–17 FA Youth Cup. Poveda took part in Manchester City's First Team's pre-season tour of the United States in the summer of 2018. After five EFL Trophy appearances and two goals for the U21 team during the first half of the 2018–19 season, Poveda made his senior debut for the club with a start in a 1–0 EFL Cup semi-final second leg win over Burton Albion on 23 January 2019. In November 2019, Poveda was called up to the Manchester City squad for their Champions League fixture against Atalanta.

In January 2020, Poveda held talks with Serie A club Torino and Championship side Leeds United, with contact also from Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim ahead of a possible move in the January window. Poveda stated that he was very excited to work under his new manager Marcelo Bielsa. He made his Leeds debut on 21 June, as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Championship defeat at Cardiff City.

After the English professional football season was paused in March 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football, the season was resumed during June, where Poveda earned promotion with Leeds to the Premier League and also become the EFL Championship Champions for the 2019–20 season in July after the successful resumption of the season.

His first start of the 2020–21 season came on 16 September 2020 for Premier League Leeds in a 1–1 draw against Hull City in the EFL Cup. He made his Premier League debut in a 1–0 away win over Sheffield United on 27 September 2020. Poveda featured sixteen times for Leeds throughout the 2020–21 season.

Poveda was released by Leeds in June 2024 at the conclusion of his contract.

Loan to Blackburn Rovers On 23 August 2021, Poveda joined Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan. Poveda scored the first goal of his career on 6 November, scoring the equaliser in an eventual 3–1 home win over Sheffield United.

On 20 November, Poveda was taken off in the 44th minute of Blackburn's 1–1 draw with Bristol City after sustaining an injury to his left ankle. Blackburn later confirmed that following a scan, Poveda suffered both a fracture and ligament damage in his left ankle which would see the player ruled out for a significant amount of time.

Loan to Blackpool On 27 August 2022, Poveda joined Championship side Blackpool on a season-long loan. On 16 March, Poveda scored his first goal for Blackpool in new manager Mick McCarthy's first win as manager.

Loan to Sheffield Wednesday On 1 February 2024, Poveda joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his debut the following weekend in the 4–0 defeat against Huddersfield Town, coming off the bench.

Sunderland On 25 July 2024, following his release from Leeds, Championship side Sunderland signed Poveda on a three-year deal with the option to extend for an additional year. He made his debut in a 3–1 away win on 31 August 2024 against Portsmouth, coming off the bench as a substitute.

Internacional de Bogotá Poveda left Sunderland on a free transfer to Internacional de Bogotá, on 2 March 2026. In August 2026, he joined fellow Liga DIMAYOR side Atlético Nacional, providing an assist on his debut.

International career Poveda is eligible to play for England and Colombia at international level. He won his maiden call into the England U16 squad in August 2015. He was a member of the 2015 Nike International Tournament-winning squad. He was a member of the U17 squad which won the 2016 Croatia Cup. In March 2018, Poveda received his first international call-up for 18 months, for U18 friendlies versus Qatar, Belarus and a mixed-age Argentina team. He appeared in each match and scored three goals.

On 4 October 2019, Poveda was included in the England U20 squad for the first time and made his debut as a 72nd-minute substitute during a 2–2 draw away to Italy in the U20 Elite League.

In December 2023, Poveda was called up to the Colombia national team for the first time.

Personal life Poveda was born in London, England, to Colombian parents. During his youth years, he played youth tournaments for Southwark schoolboys alongside Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson who also became professional footballers. Manchester City's website described his style as 'Nimble and fleet-footed',

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Manchester City 2018–19

2019–20

2019–20 Premier League

2021–22 Premier League

2023–24 Championship

25!!0!!3!!0!!3!!0!!6!!2!!37!!2 Leeds United U21 2020–21 Championship

Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2023–24

England U16 Nike International Tournament: 2015

England U17 Croatia Cup: 2016