Ranking the Top 5 Teenagers to Have Played for Manchester City Since 2000

For football fans in England, there’s nothing better than watching a talented young player emerge. It feels almost like we have more of an emotional investment in them. In contrast to ready-made stars who join the side after developing elsewhere, young players belong to us, and as a result, their progress means more.

It’s a feeling that is particularly pronounced at Manchester City, a club with a proud academy tradition. The huge investment that followed the 2008 takeover of the club has made it difficult for youngsters to make the jump into the first team now, but prior to that City had one of the most active academies in the English game, regularly supplementing the first team with talented teenagers.

Here, we look at the five best who have played for City since the year 2000. Players are ranked based on natural talent and ability, as well as what they achieved with the club and how many appearances they made.

Feel free to use the comment section below to suggest additional names.

5. Michael Johnson

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In terms of pure, natural talent, it’s arguable that Michael Johnson, who made his City debut in 2006 aged 18, is the finest on this list.

What a wonderful footballer he was to watch, a player who could kill a ball stone dead and glide beautifully across the pitch with pace and purpose. He could shoot, dribble and, most notably, pass—Johnson was a complete midfield player who could have reached the very top of the game.

His finest year was the 2007/08 season in which Sven-Goran Eriksson was in charge at City. The Swede completed a rushed but successful summer trolley dash around Europe and brought in a host of players that few City fans had heard of.

They revolutionised the club’s playing style. From the dirge of the Stuart Pearce years, City suddenly moved the ball quickly, playing open, attractive football.

The likes of Elano, Martin Petrov, Geovanni and Vedran Corluka were far from the finest in the game, but a significant improvement on what had gone before them.

Johnson eclipsed them all. He was absolutely superb and had "future England regular" written all over him.

However, Johnson struggled with the trappings of fame and fortune. His mental health spiralled, and eventually he was released.

"He was a guy with a big talent. I am sad for this and for him, because he could do everything with his talent," said former City manager Roberto Mancini, per the Mail, when the news of Johnson's contract termination became known. 

"I am sad for him, and I hope he can resolve all of his problems."

There hasn’t been a bigger disappointment at City in a long time.

4. Shaun Wright-Phillips

Tim Hales/Associated Press

Because his career went so awry after leaving City in 2005, it’s easy to forget just how good Shaun Wright-Phillips was during his first stint at the club.

It was his mix of precociousness and bravery that made him such a force. He didn’t seem to fear anything, and when he picked up the ball there was almost a naivety about him that made him impossible to stop. He would run and run, carrying the ball downfield and taking players out of the game in the process, creating space for others on the pitch.

He was small in stature but had a huge heart—an instant fan favourite. He made his debut in 1999 under the guidance of Joe Royle but excelled when Kevin Keegan took over.

In the 2001/02 season that saw City win the old First Division title at a canter, Wright-Phillips played 35 league games and scored eight goals. City were an attacking force, destroying teams with their desire to go forward at every opportunity. Wright-Phillips was clearly enjoying himself.

He then played regularly in three Premier League campaigns in succession. He was the best player in the team by some distance, the most creative, the hardest worker and a goalscorer. He bagged 18 in the league during that three-year spell—a superb return for a winger.

He was sold to Chelsea in 2005 for £21 million and never recaptured his form. He returned to City three years later, but he had lost his brilliance, and City were a club on the rise.

His first spell, though, was exhilarating.

3. Kelechi Iheanacho

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

There can be no doubting Kelechi Iheanacho’s quality. Already, after just one season in the first team, he has placed himself among the best young players to have appeared in a City shirt in recent times.

The Nigerian has everything he needs to excel. Technically, he is superb. A good touch, quick feet, the ability to find a pass—there’s little he can’t do. He has pace and enjoys involving himself in neat one-touch football, and his movement for one so young is outstanding.

But what perhaps marks him out from other players his age is his confidence. Iheanacho will try things on the pitch most teenagers wouldn’t dare.

And he is prepared to work hard to achieve his goals. In an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report last season, he said:

"

The most important part for me is to work hard every training session and every game. There are players ahead of me—[Sergio] Aguero and [Wilfried] Bony. They are great players, professional players.

So I just need to work hard every training session and work hard every game, so maybe one day it will be my chance to play. Right now, they are ahead of me so I just need to work hard.

What it requires is hard work. When you work hard, you get great rewards after that. I just need to work hard and do great things for the team.

"

 His career is only just beginning. His potential is endless.

2. Micah Richards

JON SUPER/Associated Press

Micah Richards made his debut aged 17, captained the club’s academy side to the 2006 FA Youth Cup, scored a last-gasp equaliser in a cup game at Aston Villa before famously swearing on TV, became the youngest England defender to represent his country and was central to the FA Cup and Premier League wins which ended years of trophy-less hurt.

In the 2011/12 season, when City won their first league title in 44 years, Richards was superb. He had improved the defensive side of his game beyond recognition and had developed as an attacking force.

A series of horrendous injuries saw him regress badly. He lost his place to Pablo Zabaleta and so began a downward spiral in form.

He left on loan for Fiorentina in 2014 and signed for Villa in 2015.

1. Joe Hart

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Joe Hart signed for City from Shrewsbury in 2006 for just £100,000 after a recommendation from the club’s then-goalkeeping coach Tim Flowers. It has proved to be one of the best pieces of transfer business the Blues have ever done.

He made his debut in October that year, keeping a clean sheet in a game against Sheffield United. However, loans to Tranmere Rovers and Blackpool followed in a bid to accelerate his development. City had Nicky Weaver and Andreas Isaksson battling for a first-team spot, and it was better for Hart to go and get some games.

In the 2007/08 season, he became a first-team regular, playing 32 games and impressing. But the arrival of Shay Given in January 2009 saw him lose his place, and when City brought in experienced backup Stuart Taylor, they decided Hart would benefit from another loan spell, this time with Birmingham City. He was superb, won a place in the PFA Team of the Year and returned to City to battle Give for supremacy.

Roberto Mancini opted to give Hart a starting place in the first game of the 2010/11 season, and a Man of the Match display away at Tottenham sealed his position as first-choice keeper.

Since then, he’s been largely superb. An England regular, a two-time title winner and a leader who commands the respect of the fans, he’s a key player for the club.