LUKAS NMECHA is determined to use his loan spell at Middlesbrough as an opportunity to force his way back into the first-team picture at Manchester City.

Nmecha was regarded as one of City’s brightest academy hopes when he made his Premier League debut at West Ham at the age of just 19, but his career stalled in the first half of this season when he found himself kicking his heels on the sidelines during a loan spell with Wolfsburg.

Having cut short his time in the Bundesliga, he joined Boro on a season-long deal at the start of the month and has featured in five of the club’s matches as he has quickly settled into life at the Riverside.

He is desperate to make a significant impact in the final four months of the campaign, with his long-term aim a place in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad at the Etihad.

“My target right now is to get as many games as I can and get the team as high up the table as possible,” said Nmecha, whose next chance to impress will come when Boro host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

“In the long term, the aim is to get into the squad and then into the team at Man City, but I’m not one of those who thinks too far ahead. I believe in my ability and my potential and am willing to work to try and achieve that. I know I have a long way to go. I have to work hard and give it all I’ve got and see where it takes me.”

Having switched nationalities last spring, taking up German citizenship despite having previously represented England at Under-21 level, Nmecha had high hopes for his time at Wolfsburg.

Things did not go to plan at the Volkswagen Arena, so the 21-year-old is determined to make up for lost time after jumping at the chance to join Boro.

“We got to the winter break in Germany and I said I wanted to leave,” he said, in an interview with the Evening Gazette. “As a young player, you need to be playing. You need to keep developing. You need the experience, and I wasn’t getting that.

“When I said I wanted to leave, City supported that decision. They weren’t happy I wasn’t playing either, and when Boro found out, they were in touch with City pretty much straight away. We got the deal done very quickly.

“I spoke to Jonathan (Woodgate) before I came. He told me this was an ambitious club with a good group of young players who wanted to play the game the right way and had the potential to do really well in the league and that all suits me.

“I think I’ve done okay in the first few games and when I get up to speed, I hope to do better.

“It’s a great set-up here. The facilities are great and the coaching staff and players are great. I’ve been made to feel very welcome.

“I’m loving it. I hadn’t hardly played in about six months, so for them to get me back up and running and in great shape so quickly is just fantastic.”