Kai McKenzie-Lyle, 20 and born in Haringey, London, has signed for English giants Liverpool after impressing on trial with the reserve team.
It could be a completely normal story, if not for the fact that Kai is an international for Guyana, and got there through Football Manager.
How it happened
In 2016, aged 18 and playing for modest Barnet, he was called up for Caribbean Cup qualifiers after Football Manager research assistants found he was eligible to represent Guyana, then 182nd in the FIFA world rankings. They got in touch with the Caribbean side's "chief scout", Faisal Khan, who added the young goalkeeper's name to the database of eligible players, and he quickly earned his first call-up, in which he started.
To make the story even more incredible, Kai McKenzie-Lyle scored a header on his debut for his country, against Suriname, and saved a penalty in his second game, against Jamaica.
Now 20, and after spells at Cockfosters, St Ives Town and Hayes & Yeading, always on loan from Barnet, he turned up for pre-season training with the Reds' under-23s, even playing in the 1-1 draw against Győri ETO, the club where Miklós Fehér came through and began his senior career before moving to Portugal.
We're waiting for more news about this 2.01m giant of a goalkeeper, but one thing is certain: this just proves Football Manager is an excellent scouting tool.
