Guardiola says City’s ‘new generation is coming’

Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola (R) looks on during the international friendly match between Bayern Munich of Germany and Manchester City of England at the National Stadium in Tokyo on July 26, 2023. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Pep Guardiola declared Manchester City’s “new generation is coming” after a trio of academy graduates shone in the European champions’ second win of a pre-season tour in Japan against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

James McAtee — who spent last season on loan at Championship side Sheffield United, making 37 appearances and scoring nine times to help the club secure promotion to the Premier League — opened the scoring for City in the 21st minute in Tokyo.

Fellow tyro Oscar Bobb also showed flashes of his quality after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 victory.

Rico Lewis was the standout performer though, constantly causing Bayern problems going forward and not shying away from his defensive duties in the middle of the park.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Guardiola said 18-year-old Lewis was “so smart, so intelligent”.

“He understands everything and is reliable in many, many things,” he said of the player who made 14 appearances in the Premier League last season.

“We are really, really pleased a player from the academy came up and is playing the way he is playing.”

Guardiola — himself a graduate of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy — expressed his pride at the quality of players City were now producing, declaring “the new generation is coming”.

Guardiola also praised the way in which the academy was benefiting City’s finances, pointing out that “we sell a lot, with a buy-back (clause) normally”.

“So just for the academy in two transfer windows here 80 million pounds ($103.3