Manchester City

WE’RE BLESSED TO HAVE THESE ACADEMY PLAYERS, SAYS GUARDIOLA

Published

5 months ago

July 31, 2024

soccerlivenews

WE’RE BLESSED TO HAVE THESE ACADEMY PLAYERS, SAYS GUARDIOLA

Pep Guardiola says he is blessed to have so many talented players from City’s Academy available to him.

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City are in the United States for our pre-season tour and with many of the senior players still away after Euro 2024, it has been an opportunity for younger players to shine.

Our third match – a 2-2 draw with Barcelona in Orlando on Tuesday night – saw 19-year-old midfielder Nico O’Reilly score his first senior goal.

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Manchester-born O’Reilly has been part of the Club’s Academy since the age of eight and is now impressing Guardiola having started all three matches in the US this summer.

He’s just one youngster taking centre stage, with Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb and James McAtee also stepping up.

“We’re blessed to have these players,” said Guardiola.

“It’s nice because the other young players look up to senior players.

“If you aren’t ready another will be ready because look at them, they want to become footballers and show they want to be there.

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“As a manager it’s really good and that’s why having this period before the season is good.

“It’s nice to see them, I didn’t know them quite well but in training we can find them.

Specifically on O’Reilly, Guardiola has already seen a lot to admire from the teenager on the training pitch before this tour.

While his height and strength may initially disguise it, O’Reilly’s composure on the ball and eye for a pass make him the ideal model of a player that fits within a Guardiola system.

During his rise through the ranks at the CFA, the midfielder has played a whole array of positions and Guardiola is confident this will stand him in good stead in the future.

“He had a long injury last season and he came back in the middle and trained with us and I said ‘wow this guy has good things’,” he added.

“He’s a good leader, so strong in the duel and small spaces good. In attacking midfield he arrives well and when holding he can too.

“I’m pretty sure he can play within a role as holding midfielder. He can do it.

“We have Kova[cic] who played incredibly well and Nico. I know he can play, it’s difficult to sustain 90 minutes but he can help us because he’s a player with a lot of quality.”

USA TOUR 2024
City are still to face Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.

Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.

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All US Tour matches will be broadcast live for CITY+ subscribers in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

The further locations in which the Chelsea game will be available will be confirmed in the coming days.

To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.

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For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.

Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here.

For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.