Ranking Manchester City's 10 Brightest Youth Prospects
One of the many reasons Manchester City identified Pep Guardiola as their next manager is his track record on youth development.
The Spaniard, who was given an opportunity as a manager when he was young and untested, has faith in young players. If he sees within them the kind of attributes he feels he can develop, they will get chances to train and play with the first team.
City opened their £150 million youth development facility, the City Football Academy (CFA), back in December 2014, and it represents a clear statement of their intent. It boasts an incredible attention to detail.
Brian Marwood, who oversaw its creation, travelled the world to study similar facilities to gather ideas and inspiration. What he has delivered is remarkable, with the entire club—everything from the media team and marketing team through to the coaching staff and players—now based at the CFA. It’s changed the way they all work and the direction the club is travelling in.
No other side in English football is investing in young players as intensely as City, who clearly have an ambition to produce their own world-class players to supplement their first team.
They describe it as an “holistic” approach, with every one of their teams, from the very youngest right through to the senior side, encouraged to play the same open, attractive style of football.
But, of course, an all-singing, all-dancing facility constructed at great cost means little if players aren’t being brought through from the academy setup into the first team. It requires a manager dedicated to youth.
Manuel Pellegrini has made great strides in that area this season, with Kelechi Iheanacho part of his plans (albeit in a limited capacity) and Manu Garcia, Aleix Garcia, David Faupala, Tosin Adarabioyo, Cameron Humphreys and Bersant Celina all having some involvement in the senior side.
It may not have been enough to quench some fans’ thirst for youth involvement, and those who have played may not end up featuring again, but what it has done is send a message to those at City looking to make the jump into the senior side that there is, indeed, a pathway for them. There can be no greater motivation.
Now comes the Guardiola era. He is serious about youth and always has been. He will spend more time than Pellegrini at the academy, assessing the talent being nurtured as well as analysing their style and suitability to the first team.
He arrives on July 1, and excitement in Manchester is growing. What he will find when he takes the reins is a batch of youngsters showing great promise.
Here, we take a look at 10 with an excellent chance of making the grade in the long-term. Never has the jump from City’s academy into their first-team been bigger, with young players needing the technical quality and mental fortitude to dislodge some of the finest players in the game in order to get an opportunity.
But the 10 discussed here, surely have a chance, particularly with a manager like Guardiola—who will offer them an environment in which they can grow and feel as though they will get chances—coming in to take charge.
They are ranked on their potential and current ability.
10. Lukas Nmecha
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Natural goalscorers aren't easy to find, and City may well be sat on one in 17-year-old Lukas Nmecha, a pacy striker who possesses strength and excellent movement.
He is very raw, but there has been plenty in his performances for City's EDS side to suggest he could be moulded into something altogether more accomplished.
9. Pablo Maffeo
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Right-back Pablo Maffeo is very highly regarded. Patrick Vieira, who was EDS coach at City until he left to manage New York City FC in January, exclusively told Bleacher Report in July he was the best young player at the club last season.
He's an excellent prospect. He goes forward superbly, has plenty of pace and can deliver an excellent ball into the box.
City have four senior full-backs, all of whom are 30 plus. Guardiola wants to play a high-energy, intense pressing game, and he'll need younger players to fulfil that criteria.
Maffeo may well find himself getting first-team opportunities in the not-too-distant future. He has enough quality to impress.
8. Cameron Humphreys
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Cameron Humphreys became known among the City fans this summer when he appeared against Real Madrid in pre-season. He acquitted himself superbly, particularly given he was just 16 at the time.
Last season, he was voted the best under-18s player by his team-mates at the club, and there are plenty who believe he has not just the talent, but the intelligence and understanding of the game needed to be a top-quality player.
7. Angus Gunn
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Angus Gunn, 20, is the son of former Norwich City goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, and there are high hopes among the City staff that he can eventually push Joe Hart for a starting berth.
He is a very mature young player who has shown already in his time as a City EDS player that he has genuine talent and ability, with a string of fine saves over the past couple of seasons underlining his excellence.
Gunn, perhaps more than any other youngster at City, needs a loan. Chances for young 'keepers are at a premium, with experience seen as a vital part of the role.
He's been encouraged throughout his time at City to play out from the back, something Guardiola values highly in his goalkeepers.
6. Aleix Garcia
5 of 10
Spanish midfielder Aleix Garcia may well end up being an effective deep-lying playmaker, with his passing, both long and short, making him ideal to start attacks from just in front of the back four.
He is just 18, but his maturity suggests he could easily make a career in the game.
With Guardiola’s desire to see his side keep possession, it would hardly be a surprise if Aleix Garcia was a player he identifies as one who could step up and become a first-team player.
He left Villarreal last summer in order to move to City, despite having already played a first-team game for the La Liga side.
He told Simon Bajkowski at the Manchester Evening News that it was hard to make the transition initially:
"The main objective was to take this season to adapt myself to City and English football, then for the following season to be ready and available in case the first team consider me. At the beginning it was difficult because I needed to learn the style of play in England and the intensity is different but to be honest I'm really happy with the season so far.
"
He plays for Spain's under-19 side, which is significant, as Spain very rarely use players playing abroad in their national youth setups.
He clearly has huge potential.
5. Tosin Adarabioyo
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Centre-back is a position that is particularly difficult to make a breakthrough in at a young age. John Stones’ rise with Everton and England, for example, is unusual. Experience is seen as a vital facet of playing the role, and young players need to be patient.
Tosin Adarabioyo is possibly City’s finest centre-back prospect. His reading of the game is excellent, he anticipates danger superbly well and is quick, tall and strong for his age. The timing of his tackles says everything you need to know about his quality.
His distribution needs some work, but this is a young man who clearly has what it takes to make a career in the game.
It’s a position City have had some trouble with in recent seasons, and an overhaul under Guardiola is expected. The Spaniard prefers ball-playing defenders, and Adarabioyo will need to improve that side of his game, but the former Barcelona manager is likely to see something he can work with.
The key with any young player is to take their chance when it comes. For defenders, that tenet is even truer, and the 18-year-old Mancunian will have to make sure he is ready if given a chance to impress the incoming boss.
4. Bersant Celina
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A player already on the cusp of the first team is Bersant Celina, a midfielder who has played four times for the City first team this season and already has international recognition having appeared in two games for Kosovo.
Celina is another young player on City’s books who has an appreciation of the game—comfortable in tight spaces and able to spot the runs his team-mates might make.
He also has incredible self-belief. In an interview with Jack Pitt-Brooke for the Independent, Celina made it clear he sees himself as a player who can impact the game at the highest level.
“I learn just by looking at [David] Silva,” he said, “the way he plays, the way he passes the ball, how he takes care of it and doesn’t lose it. All the details in his game. I don’t lose the ball a lot. I have good technique. I know what I can do with the ball. And if I make the right decisions, defenders can’t come near me.”
3. Manu Garcia
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A young player Pellegrini clearly likes is Manu Garcia, who has played four times for the first team this season and already has a senior goal to his name—a cool strike in City's 5-1 Capital One Cup win over Crystal Palace in October.
Manu Garcia is a diminutive midfielder who can sit and control a game with his passing or get forward and supplement attacks.
His understanding of the game for one so young really is astonishing. He sees the game vividly, can spot runs and usually finds them with weighted passes. He’s clearly been coached in the right way, with former City EDS manager Patrick Vieira a known admirer who saw him as central to his side’s slick passing game.
He’s also a very level-headed, mature young man. City don’t simply want to produce good players, they want good people, too. Manu Garcia, who is working towards a degree in his spare time and is extremely professional in his media duties already, is exactly what the club are trying to nurture.
Like his namesake Aleix, Manu Garcia’s ability to keep possession, no matter how little space he’s afforded, could see him fast-tracked into Guardiola’s first-team plans.
2. Kelechi Iheanacho
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Some may say Kelechi Iheanacho is no longer a youngster, in footballing terms, since he has played 29 times for the first team this season.
However, his role in recent months has been peripheral, leaving him somewhat in limbo. He’s averages a goal roughly every 90 minutes he’s been on the pitch, yet he hasn’t been able to dislodge Wilfried Bony, the club’s misfiring Ivorian striker.
He will certainly be one to watch when Guardiola comes in and sets about improving those already at the club. Iheanacho has everything he needs. A superb first touch, the ability to beat players and the confidence to try the unexpected—he’s also a lethal finisher who looks likely to score goals throughout his career.
Why he hasn’t played more often this season, given his performances have been so good, is something of a mystery. His development should really begin to gather pace next season under the new City boss.
1. Brahim Diaz
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Brahim Diaz may only be 16 and is yet to make a first-team appearance, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was given a chance in Guardiola’s first season.
Diaz is the most naturally gifted player on City’s books. An attacking midfielder with an eye for goal, he appears to find it easy to go past players. A drop of the shoulder or quick switch of direction and he’s gone. He’s a wonderful prospect.
It all seems so effortless. Inevitably for a young player who enjoys taking players on, he’s been likened to Lionel Messi, but it’s actually former City player Georgi Kinkladze his style most resembles.
He’s already a star of the EDS when he plays for them, despite his age and limited physicality. Like any youngster, he needs time to develop, but in terms of natural ability with a ball at his feet, few his age can touch him.
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