Manchester City have seen the influence of their academy graduates on the Premier League this weekend.
Between them, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Liam Delap scored seven goals, with Jadon Sancho getting two assists in a game that saw former City Under-21s boss Enzo Maresca guide Chelsea into the top four. As well as producing players such as Phil Foden and Rico Lewis for Pep Guardiola, the City academy has become a top production line for the best talent.
That will be in evidence again on Tuesday when City take on another of their developed talents in the Champions League, albeit at a time when the academy and the club looked very different. The Blues were just beginning to cast their net to look at talent beyond the north-west in 2005 when academy boss Jim Cassell got a call from his head of recruitment Barry Poynton in Belfast.
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Vladimir Weiss had caught the eye, and in an age before there was as much information to go off or departments to run through, a deal to offer the Slovakian a scholarship was agreed over the phone that night. Weiss accepted, and instantly settled.
"He was terrific. He totally integrated into Manchester," Cassell told the Manchester Evening News. "Moss Side wasn't the most glamorous place to come to but he was fantastic.
"I'm not surprised he speaks so many languages because he's never been afraid of a new challenge. He had terrific feet and acceleration as a young player - that's what we really liked about him. He was a dribbler, he could carry the ball, he scored some fantastic individual goals which he would do
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