How Man City's latest star is proving his own coaches wrong

In the summer, midfielder Jacob Wright was only concentrating on establishing himself as an under-21 player, having made the step up from the under-18s.

Fast forward six months and the 18-year-old has become the 29th academy graduate to make his Manchester City debut under Pep Guardiola, is a regular face in first team training and was even part of the squad that won the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Even his coaches were not expecting Wright to enjoy the success he has done, putting his progress down to a natural quality and an attitude that has clearly resonated with Guardiola.

"He wouldn't have been one of the most highly-touted players at the start of the season," admits Elite Development Squad head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, speaking to MEN Sport. "He wouldn't have been on anybody's radar - Jacob would have been under the radar. He had the opportunity to go and train over there and he's excelled because of his attitude and how good he's been."

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Having started the season as third choice for the under-21s, injury to Isaiah Dada-Mascoll and a first team call-up for Mahamadou Susoho allowed Wright a chance to impress for the EDS as a classy holding midfielder, who Barry-Murphy describes as 'highly technical'. By his own admission, the first team was never on Wright's mind, as he speaks honestly with MEN Sport about his impressive season so far.

"Starting off it was a step coming from the 18s to the 21s. It was a big group of players, so my aims and goals were to get as many minutes in the 21s as possible. I expected to be a