Why Man City will not follow Manchester United and Liverpool FC academy tactic

Manchester United may have failed to keep up with Liverpool and Manchester City at first-team level but their academy is still seen as one of the best in the country.

United are once again the FA Youth Cup champions, and at a higher age group — thanks to some aggressive recruitment both locally and abroad — the Reds made the innovative move last season to bring in Paul McShane as one of the overage players allowed in the Under-23s league to help give their youngsters an experienced head to train with and play alongside in matches. The veteran centre-back played six times last season before retiring at the end of the campaign.

Not only was it seen as a success at United but Liverpool also took notice: Tom Huddlestone has been signed to follow in McShane's footsteps at Old Trafford while Jay Spearing has returned to Anfield to take up a similar role. Will City follow in the footsteps of their neighbours and rivals?

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City have in fact looked at the idea before but have opted against it and are not planning a similar move for this season. In Ben Wilkinson and Brian Barry-Murphy, they have coaches of the Under-18s and Under-21s respectively who can pass on their experience of the game without taking minutes away from young talent, who are challenged to find their own solutions in games if things are not going their way.

There are also far more opportunities for academy players to train with the first team than there were before Pep Guardiola's arrival. That included an unexpected chance in summer when Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Phil Foden ended up being on the academy pre-season training camp to pass on their expertise.

City Under-18s