Puma Manchester City Future 4.1 Netfit
The Nike era at Manchester City is over. Puma are now the supplier for the reigning Premier League Champions and the German brand have gone all out to show Manchester City that they are all in on the partnership. Not only did the club and brand launch the club’s kits for the 2019/20 season, but they also introduced special edition colorways of the One 5.1 and the Future 4.1 in City colors. What does the Future 4.1 bring to the table in its latest version? Let’s take a look together at the Puma x Manchester City Future 4.1
The Future 4.1 City edition comes in a simple black and sky blue color way that matches the club’s colors. The upper is all black with sky blue accents and the soleplate is sky blue with “City” inside the soleplate written in black. The simple color way not only creates a look that gives any City fan a solid looking boot, but one that can be worn by anyone looking for a cleat that keeps it simple and clean.
Let’s talk tech specs shall we? The Future continues to have knotted upper that is elasticated in the collar are that is hardened in the toe box area to add to the durability of the boot. The collar is soft and flexible to allow an easy slip on construction so that there is no tugging or pulling that ay tear up the durability of the synthetic layer is added overtop to give the boot the rugged and almost rubber like feel to the upper. The soleplate is made from a TPU plastic that features both bladed and conical studs. The main feature and selling point on any Future model is of course the NETFIT material that allows a player to lace up their cleats anyway they desire. However, there have been an increasing number of professionals and non-professionals alike who are going lace-less with the Future 4.1. I personally have tried this out and I would recommend against it in any sort of competitive play. Unless you have the perfect fit for the standard mold that Puma uses, I would use the lacing system to adjust to how the boot fits on feet.
During my testing of the boot, I found myself wanting to put on an old pair of the Future and take the 4.1’s off. The shoe felt rushed together or even just a mistake all together in some ways. The upper above the toebox just feels clunky and out of place for a Future model that has been a knitted favorite in the Puma line. Controlling the ball felt disconnected from my foot at times because of the raised rubber like upper. While the fit and comfort were top notch, it was hard to really enjoy any time spent in the boot while testing.
Manchester City have now become the main kit sponsor that Puma supply. Manchester City had a deal with Nike that ran up until the end of June 2019 and it was announced that the club and Puma would now be joining forces. Puma will now supply not only Manchester City with Puma gear, but all of the City Football Group’s clubs that are allowed to wear Puma, NYCFC is forced to wear adidas by MLS kit rules.
It is tough to find players who are actually wearing the City version of the boot, since it would really only be applicable to players who are on City’s current team. However, you can find players wearing the Puma Future 4.1 across Europe including Marco Reus, Marko Arnautovic, and Luis Suarez. Some players including Marco Reus choose to wear the boot (that was designed to have a custom lacing system) without laces.
Overall, the Future 4.1 is a rather disappointing boot. The upper feels like it tried too hard to be like a Predator boot of old, but felt more bulky on a shoe that shouldn’t feel like that. The boot really never “wowed” me or showed any sort of significant gain from the previous generations, as a matter of fact, hardly anything has changed except for the uppers rough toe-box. If you are a City fan like myself, this boot is more of a collectible item than one that will be a main stay in my boot bag.
5/10
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