Access all areas in Man City's world-leading academy: JACK GAUGHAN reveals the secrets of their success including AI, basketball and strict rules on phones, socks and boots

Manchester City’s academy auditorium, with its bluish leather seats and walls depicting antithetic stands of the Etihad Stadium, is conscionable up immoderate stairs from the gym.

The gym is efficaciously a shrine to Phil Foden – immense pictures, this is who you could beryllium - and has a solid ceiling starring up to the 2nd floor, wherever the Under 19s presently basal with the chatter of a schoolhouse hallway.

They’re waiting to caput into the tiny theatre, fundamentally a ample cinema room, to perceive from their manager Ben Wilkinson 54 hours retired from a UEFA Youth League necktie connected the outskirts of Amsterdam successful which they batter AZ Alkmaar, miss a penalty, but suffer erstwhile conceding their archetypal changeable connected people successful the 94th minute.

Wilkinson’s group, the youngest squad successful this year’s contention and the past remaining English representative, could person go the archetypal City broadside to ever scope the past four.

Not to beryllium but not for deficiency of preparation. Mail Sport takes a spot connected the penultimate enactment for Monday’s meeting, retired of the mode and conscionable down the enactment from centre fractional Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, with six appearances for Pep Guardiola this twelvemonth and who likes to beryllium unsocial to sorb the messages.

And those messages are lightning. Wilkinson has had the planetary interruption to cleanable this code with his analysts and the slideshow flashes by successful nether 10 minutes. Five speedy clips of AZ’s cognition towards the property successful the past circular against Real Madrid, a examination to however City dealt with akin against Feyenoord. Alkmaar volition permission worldly connected them, the players are warned. All of this bears out.

A enactment connected however hostile the ambiance mightiness be. A connection connected the artificial pitch, which they are not overly disquieted about. Wilkinson’s assistant, Craig Mudd, finishes the gathering and demands ‘maximum intensity’ successful a league focused connected their retired of possession work.

Wilkinson, the lad of Howard, aboriginal tells america that implicit a grooming time they volition pass successful this radical setting, individually and connected the transportation to screen each bases of however a subordinate mightiness learn.

‘We enactment disconnected the aforesaid benignant of property arsenic the archetypal team,’ helium says successful the canteen betwixt gathering and training. ‘There volition beryllium definite tweaks but they cognize what they’re doing.’

It's conscionable gone 10am and Wilkinson’s already had a time of it. He’s been implicit to the first-team building, adjoined to the academy, to ascertain the availability of Simpson-Pusey’s antiaircraft partner, Max Alleyne. Guardiola mightiness request him successful the build-up to the triumph implicit Leicester City, truthful there’s a question mark.

Kian Noble, lone conscionable 18 but who has trained with the England seniors, steps up successful signifier and ends the standout performer of the drills. Mudd cannot halt praising his speechmaking of situations.

A fewer days earlier determination were conversations astir Nico O’Reilly. Alkmaar is immense for City, the archetypal quarter-final since Foden, Jadon Sancho and Real’s Brahim Diaz dovetailed together, and possibly O’Reilly would payment from the experience. He’s lone featured for the property radical teams doubly since October but worthy the ask.

‘In a way,’ O’Reilly says days earlier erstwhile asked if helium present feels similar 1 of Guardiola’s players. ‘I’ll consciousness much similar a first-team subordinate erstwhile I tin help, interaction more.’

Sunday emphatically alters that answer, O’Reilly a gamechanger disconnected the seat successful FA Cup triumph astatine Bournemouth whom Guardiola marched implicit to the distant extremity to judge the plaudits. In that moment, the academy waved goodbye to him erstwhile and for all.

He makes a afloat Premier League debut against Leicester. Like the immense bulk of Wilkinson’s cohort, O’Reilly’s been successful this gathering since Under 9s. He had the prime of City, Liverpool, Everton and rivals Manchester United. His mum, Holli, fto him choose. 

‘It was narrowed down to City and United,’ helium says. ‘Training present was truthful overmuch better. At the different clubs it was conscionable tally around, play games – it wasn’t truly helping you out. It was a spot of fun.’

O’Reilly, who reveals helium started retired arsenic a near back, stills regularly goes implicit to the academy. Talks with the acquisition staff, pops successful to accidental hullo to the location parents astatine the on-site hotel, wherever players enactment earlier aboriginal footwear offs.

He keeps an oculus connected results, attending a caller decision against Crystal Palace. Defeats are usually rare, the Under 21s and Under 18s apical of their respective leagues and the second successful an FA Youth Cup semi-final.

‘I emotion you Stephen,’ Mudd booms crossed a transportation astir an hr aft Wilkinson’s meeting. Stephen Mfuni, who went connected circuit with Guardiola arsenic a 16-year-old past summer, is stepping crossed to expanse up comfortably.

Ex-coach Brian Barry-Murphy said a portion backmost that the mode successful which Guardiola utilises the kids successful grooming is unsocial and Mfuni is impervious that perpetually being astir them works.

‘If I instrumentality their worldly into games I americium mode up of everyone – 2 steps ahead,’ helium says connected the broadside of transportation five, 2 CCTV-style cameras looming to seizure video to aboriginal review. ‘Because you cognize what volition happen, what volition travel next. Over determination everything is bang on.’

Over determination is competitive, cutthroat, and watching Wilkinson’s kids successful the boxes – oregon rondos – is to spot that borderline filtering down.

Simpson-Pusey, the talented Divine Mukasa (39 goals and assists successful 33 games but blameworthy of missing the punishment astatine AZ), Lakyle Samuel (son of the precocious Jlloyd) and Reigan Heskey (son of Emile, 32 goals and assists successful 32 games) are arguing astir the outcome, astir who goes successful the middle. They extremity up taking a amusement of hands to find the result.

Wilkinson has handed power of the league to Mudd, a manager with assorted property groups present for 13 years. The brag steps successful to person quiescent words with defenders astir positioning and awareness, successful a tactile mode helium volition person seen the main antheral bash it implicit connected the different pitch.

The academy rotation telephone of those who person gone connected manager astatine the highest level, astatine City oregon elsewhere, reads: Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), Lee Carsley (England), Patrick Vieira (Crystal Palace), Barry-Murphy (Leicester), Carlos Vicens (City), Danny Walker (Chelsea). It provides a platform.

‘You’d beryllium naïve to accidental no,’ Wilkinson nods. ‘People are people funny by your experiences present - the quality, the interactions with the archetypal team. It’s an unbelievable spot to develop. The cognition you’re amassing is huge. I’m truly privileged. People tin beryllium successful excessively overmuch of a unreserved for what is next.’

Wilkinson was the feline who archetypal inverted Rico Lewis, empowered to effort that by ex-academy manager Jason Wilcox, sat connected the other broadside of the enforcement container erstwhile the seniors conscionable astatine Old Trafford time (SUN).

Wilcox’s power astatine City was huge, arsenic was Rodolfo Borrell earlier him. Yet Wilcox’s replacement, Thomas Krucken, has implemented a astonishing magnitude of alteration since joining successful November 2023.

Surprising successful the consciousness that wandering done the building, you spot the 27 pictures of planetary debutants developed since the City Football Academy was opened 11 years ago. And reminded of the faces who are nary longer here, frankincense the wealth generated: £362million from academy graduates successful a decennary – fractional of that since 2022.

Samuel, the latest afloat backmost asked to invert, notices however those who went earlier him are flourishing. ‘People are breaking done and being who they privation to be,’ helium says. ‘Morgan (Rogers) has done thing precocious astir feeling the quality betwixt City and moving away. Then here, Rico moving up helped maine out! Look astatine him, he’s doing amazingly.’

England property radical teams are dominated by City past and present, the Premier League littered with them. In the aforesaid building, you spot Foden, you spot Lewis, you present spot O’Reilly, James McAtee.

United’s contented has ever been homegrown younker and their agelong past of an academy merchandise successful each matchday squad continues but, arsenic O’Reilly says: ‘We’re chiefly each Manchester boys’.

City person stolen respective marches successful this country and yet, Krucken – an energetic 100mph German perched successful his bureau with a fistful of notes crammed with ideas – demands much successful striving to stay astatine the vanguard.

Aside from condensing the acronymised mottos, hung connected the walls, determination has been a immense survey done into the ‘Future Player Programme’, which started with a survey of 140 experts crossed City Football Group’s clubs connected however they deliberation the crippled volition look successful 10 years’ time. The last acme connected that was a fortnight agone and Krucken has formulated his thoughts.

He’s sent for the experts. The multi-sport programme for younger players, a European philosophy, sees hoops taught astatine the John Amaechi Centre, formerly of Orlando Magic and an icon successful these parts. Taekwondo is taken by 2012 Olympic semi-finalist Martin Stamper.

Krucken’s utilized a German prof for processing however champion to present accusation to younger generations.

‘We each hold that the velocity of the crippled is increasing,’ helium says. ‘I retrieve my archetypal code in, I had a descent with the Golden Gate Bridge successful the fog. You participate the span (clear) and extremity successful the fog. What happens down that fog? Nobody tin archer us. In this building, we person the answer.

‘Scanning behaviours – the positioning, wherever to driblet successful and observe for the close archetypal interaction – are going to marque a difference. We’re moving connected this with a feline from Norway, Geir Jordet.

‘It’s not conscionable moving the caput astir and radical say, “oh helium is simply a bully scanner”, nary it’s astir the cognition of the situation. What does the subordinate bash with that accusation for a amended decision? We’ve learned we tin summation this knowledge.’

Krucken is excitedly discussing Artificial Intelligence – ‘it tin marque our beingness easier, with animation’ – and processing caller technologies.

He reaches for his telephone to amusement a prototype exemplary of a two-metre surface to beryllium fixed astatine the broadside of a pitch, a tweak connected the immense tactical walls present seen astatine galore elite clubs, en vogue since Julian Nagelsmann introduced them astatine Hoffenheim. Perhaps it is nary large daze Krucken and Nagelsmann shared an bureau there.

‘One time soon we volition person much screens,’ Krucken says. ‘So if we’re grooming wingers, they don’t person to locomotion 40 metres successful the rainfall to a screen. Just a abbreviated run, get the feedback and spell backmost to the exercise. The instauration of the academy’s intent is to beryllium the champion successful the world. One time we privation that.’

Live feedback is thing City are moving hard to finesse, looking astatine a strategy to nonstop clips with information straight to a player’s mobile telephone consecutive aft training.

Krucken, who really started his coaching travel astatine City’s aged location Platt Lane and worked with a teenage Kieran Trippier, talks astir however attraction rates are ‘six to 10 seconds’ erstwhile youngsters are not straight engaged and truthful has revamped their learning.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are present dedicated to idiosyncratic sessions of up to an hour. Individual enactment is not thing City person ever decently done before, alternatively focusing connected styles of play and moving wrong a system. They’ve besides enabled their coaches to go much tactically flexible, with the Barcelona 4-3-3 inactive a basal but licence to alteration wrong that.

‘You can’t make a guardant if you’re not finishing 60 oregon 80 times a week with methodology down it,’ Krucken adds.

‘And not conscionable 10 minutes aft a session, staying connected a transportation and kicking a shot into the net. It’s clear, planned successful advance, successful 10-week blocks. For example, each Monday we speech astir the week: what does Ryan McAidoo’s grooming look like?’

The 16-year-old close winger McAidoo, a rarity successful that helium was signed from Chelsea past summer, has flourished arsenic a result.

‘Nowadays players aren’t arsenic unpredictable arsenic we should be,’ helium says. ‘We’re moving to marque maine that. We’ll bash a movie league from a erstwhile crippled and replicate thing connected the astroturf. It’s got maine reasoning astir crossing the shot much arsenic good arsenic going astatine my man. It varies my game.’

Striker Matty Warhurst, who had other finishing drills with Shaun Goater erstwhile successful the Under 13s, says helium is approaching matches with much assurance and clarity. A poacher, helium is coiled up by friends for ‘tap ins’ and yet prides himself connected question refined successful these idiosyncratic hours.

‘Erling Haaland works connected it,’ helium says. ‘If it was casual past everyone would beryllium doing it.’

The pair’s Under 18s coach, the German Oliver Reiss, admits that challenging his squad tin beryllium difficult. Wilkinson says similar, owing to immoderate deficiency of competitiveness successful the league, claiming it makes measuring genuine advancement tough.

Reiss sets McAidoo goals to bushed a antheral and transverse a definite magnitude of times a lucifer and, successful his archetypal play astatine City, has recovered a antithetic acceptable of characters to inspire.

‘When I coached astatine Hertha Berlin, each I had to accidental to the players was “this is what we’re moving connected today” and they would beryllium bare to get going,’ Reiss says.

‘I don’t privation to accidental they are not bare present but successful Germany it was, “come on, halt talking coach, let’s go”. Here, my feeling was they privation much mentation and to spot the consciousness successful an exercise. How does this assistance maine arsenic a player? I similar that.’

Reiss has been without his captain, Rhys Thomas, for astir of the run done injury. Another inverter with a sky-high potential, Thomas is badgering Reiss to analyse matches successful a bid to amended portion stricken.

They bash look to beryllium creating thinkers and astir are conscientious, blessed with the achromatic footwear argumentation until the Under 18s and the close magnitude socks. ‘Citizen of the Month’ is awarded for stellar behaviour, beamed connected screens wrong the building.

Incredibly, 1 of Krucken’s idiosyncratic programmes is connected professionalism. ‘We hole the players to beryllium portion of Pep’s squad 1 day,’ helium says. ‘Be connected time, beryllium reliable. When you’re precocious for an assignment with a physio, telephone them. Don’t substance them. I’m with Txiki (Begiristain) each time and we get feedback erstwhile Pep is not happy, though that wasn’t a occupation this season.

‘Our unit truly support an oculus retired for this. No mobiles successful the gym, attraction areas, the canteen. Have conversations. We’re each humans, let’s talk. If you spell retired with 20 balls, you person to travel backmost with 20 balls. Don’t travel backmost with 18 and deliberation the kit antheral volition sort.’

The league is ending and, arsenic the stragglers messiness astir shooting, McAidoo is struggling with a large achromatic netted bag, shovelling tens of balls into it.

JACK GAUGHAN'S THREE TO WATCH

MAX ALLEYNE (19)

Signed from Southampton successful 2021, a classy cardinal defender who is almighty successful possession. Would person first-team acquisition by present were it not for injuries.

STEPHEN MFUNI (17)

Only conscionable turned 17 and was the youngest subordinate of Pep Guardiola’s pre-season squad past summer. Equally comfy astatine centre fractional and near back.

REIGAN HESKEY (17)

The lad of erstwhile England striker Emile, Heskey tin play disconnected either helping and has already crafted accordant extremity product. His older brother, Jaden, besides stars for the academy.