Man City aren’t messing about this summer transfer window. Not only has the first team welcomed some shiny new signings, but the club’s now famous academy has seen some of the country’s best young talent walk through the doors in a ruthless drive for the next wonderkid.
By Alex Roberts
Pep Guardiola faces a problem he’s never had to deal with this season, at least to this extent. His squad is aging, Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker have already been shown the door, while the likes of Jack Grealish, John Stones, Ederson, and Bernardo Silva, among others, are on the chopping block.
Being at the top of the game both domestically and on the continent for the past five or so years has started to take a toll. For most clubs, finishing third in the Premier League would be considered a success, but for City, it was a marked fall off.
Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Omar Marmoush, Nico González, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Vitor Reis have all been signed this year with the intention of adding to the first team, while several youngsters have been promoted and integrated into Guardiola’s side from the academy.
The most notable of those are Nico O’Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, and Rico Lewis, who had featured before last season but really made his mark in 2024-25, playing 44 games across all competitions in almost every position on the pitch.
Some things change and some stay the same. Hugo Viana came in from Sporting CP to replace long-term Guardiola ally Txiki Begiristain, a huge moment in terms of how City sign players, but Viana’s focus has been solely on first-team signings.
Like Begiristain, Viana has been more than happy to keep the faith in academy director Thomas Krucken, director of academy recruitment Sam Fagbemi and head of youth recruitment Carl Walker, for youth signings and rightly so. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Under their watch City, once again, have some remarkable young talents coming through. Finlay Gorman, who was snapped up from Leeds last year is a Phil Foden-esque attacking midfielder with the world at his feet. He ended the Under-18 Premier League with ten goals and ten assists in 27 games last season.
Reigan Heskey, who is indeed the son of the great Emile, isn’t just a social media darling, he’s also a deadly left-winger. He was catapulted into under-19s at the age of 15 for a UEFA Youth League game against Young Boys, lining up alongside his brother Jaden and scoring a penalty.
One thing that City have struggled with, despite their success in producing talent, is integrating them into the first team. Cole Palmer is the obvious example of a player who left and became an incredible success elsewhere, and there is a smidgen of regret among the fans who are watching one of their own rip it up for Chelsea.
That might change soon, well, it may HAVE to change soon, thanks to their looming and alleged 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules and regulations, with the punishment, if there will be one, as of yet unknown.
As in life, it always pays to be prepared in football, and City aren’t wasting any time. According to everyone’s favourite transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the club are either in talks with, or have added, seven players from rival academies so far, with plenty of time in the window to go.
Caelan Cadamarteri (15) and Romario Collins, (14) both came through at Sheffield Wednesday, with the former, a striker who ended last season as his club under-18s top goal scorer with 24 games, confirmed as a City player for a reported fee of around £1.5 million. Collins, on the other hand, is also expected to earn a six-figure fee for the troubled South Yorkshire club.
Kaylum Moss (14), regarded as one of the brightest young talents to come out of Liverpool’s academy for a number of years, has also been targeted, with the two rival clubs in negotiations. Of course, Liverpool are no strangers to this kind of deal, notably signing Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea last summer.
Ethan Fullen (14), from Newcastle and Jeremiah Adesina, (14), from Chelsea, the other club that has a claim to the title of best academy in the country over the past decade or so, are also set to join.
For Freddie Lawrie (16) of Aston Villa, and Dexter Oliver (16) there is a little more information. Lawrie joined Villa from Port Vale in September 2023 and by the end of August 2024 had made his debut for the England Under-16s, going on to make eight appearances for his country since.
He’s primarily deployed as a central midfielder, although he has played as a centre-back for England. Oliver is also a midfielder but he’s a more attacking minded than Lawrie, playing as more of an eight than a six or even a ten.
Due to rules brought in post-Brexit, City, and other clubs in the UK are unable to sign players under the age of 18 from European clubs like they did before. For example, Man United signed Alejandro Garnacho from Atlético Madrid just before it all came into effect.
That doesn’t mean City aren’t looking across the English Channel, however. Striker Mahamadou Sangaré (18) was signed on a free from PSG has been added to their under-21s squad, while Juma Bah was signed after just 13 games for Real Valladolid’s first team and is now on loan at OGC Nice, playing in a league that has a reputation for bringing through great young talent.
Whether is due to the club wanting to be prepared for the worst in regard to all those allegations or otherwise, City have an exciting bunch of young players in their hands and show no signs in letting up when it comes to adding even more.
Nothing in football is ever certain, but given City’s recent track record, those young lads have every opportunity to become the future, even if they end up at Chelsea in five years’ time.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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