Inside the training camp where first team trio stunned Man City academy

John Stones, Phil Foden, and Ilkay Gundogan weren't planning on spending a week with the academy when it became clear they would not be able to travel with the first team to the United States this summer - and Manchester City's youth coaches certainly hadn't prepared for having them.

Pep Guardiola had made it clear that he would much rather have not lost the players for a sizable chunk of pre-season, with his squad thinned given that they did not meet entry requirements for the US. The message to the academy was to include the senior stars as much as possible in the original plans for the Croatia camp and to make them adapt rather than tailoring to their needs, and the dialogue was constantly back and forth as the first-team coaches wanted progress reports on how they were doing.

It quickly became clear there was no need at all to worry. If there was any potential for further awkwardness at the unusual circumstances, they quickly disappeared as the senior players left an incredible mark on the youngsters and staff during their time in Croatia.

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"It's not going over the top to say that the week was transformed by the presence of the first-team players," Under-21s coach Brian Barry Murphy told the Manchester Evening News . "If I was to speak about the week without referencing them it would be a total lie because it ended up revolving around them because of what they gave us.

"It was an incredible experience for our players and staff - and I'd like to say for them! I think it was a very beneficial week for them from a performance point of view; for us, it was amazing."

The presence of Stones was deemed too good an opportunity for Barry-Murphy