Pep Guardiola admission and Man City transfer calls show academy must serve different purpose

Before Liam Delap completed his move to Stoke, Pep Guardiola said he would be granted a loan because there was no longer any value in him playing for the academy team.

It presented an issue that City have faced with more and more youngsters in recent transfer windows - what to do with players who are too good for the Premier League 2, but not good enough to challenge for a regular matchday role for Guardiola's first team. The likes of Delap, Cole Palmer and James McAtee have successfully juggled a supportive role for the first team with occasional appearances for the Elite Development Squad, but there is only so long that is beneficial.

When the trio are scoring for fun at under-21 level, the point comes where they simply don't learn anything from the experience any more, and they are not becoming any better to reach the level required to be a first teamer under Guardiola.

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So City have decided to permanently promote Palmer, with EDS manager Brian Barry-Murphy saying he doesn't expect to call upon the winger this season, while McAtee and Delap are on loan in the Championship. They join Tommy Doyle, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Callum Doyle and Lewis Fiorini on loan in the second tier, while Finley Burns and Morgan Rogers have played in the division last season, and last season's U23 captain CJ Egan-Riley has joined Burnley permanently.

On that evidence, it's fair to say the level of City's best academy talents is around the top half of the Championship, which is remarkable to consider for a group of teenagers.

However, while it bodes well for the players, it doesn't help City too much. The standard of the Premier League