Phil Foden has been one of the finest talents that Manchester City academy produced in recent times. The English midfielder made his debut for the Manchester City senior team back in 2017 as he came on as a substitute for Yaya Toure in a Champions League fixture. Recently, Foden opened up on the significance of having a robust and well-structured football academy as he believes more academy graduates will be playing for the Manchester City first team in future.
As per a report published by SPORTBIBLE, “You look around the Manchester City first team now and there are definitely more players who have come through the ranks. This season alone, we had Cole Palmer, James McAtee, Liam Delap in and around the first team – these guys are just three names that people will know,” Foden told Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.
In a Carabao Cup fixture last season, eight Manchester City academy players had lined up against Wycombe. Foden called it a big moment and at the same time he opined that there is no reason why it cannot become a more regular thing in future. Notably, City had defeated Wycombe 6-1 in that encounter.
Apart from Foden, players like Cole Palmer and James McAtee have been given opportunities to convince manager Pep Guardiola. Last season, 20-year-old Palmer scored three goals across Champions League, the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup. Moreover, he made his English Premier League debut against Everton last season.
Teenager McAtee, on the other hand, donned the Manchester City jersey on five occasions in the 2021-22 season.
Back in 2014, Manchester City had opened their £200 million training complex and it revealed club’s focus on building a strong youth system in order to nurture world-class footballers over time.
In a recent interview, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed that in the age category of eight to 23, Manchester City have more than 200 players out of which 85 per cent are native talents.
The defending Premier League champions are set to start their title defence in the upcoming season on August 7. Their first match is scheduled to be against West Ham.
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