Inside the fierce battle raging away from the pitch forward of the Manchester derby
Manchester United and Manchester City will be locked in a fierce battle on the pitch on Sunday when they clash in the first derby of the season. But beyond the spotlight of Old Trafford another conflict is brewing – the fight for the finest academy prospects.
Just this week, two exciting young talents have departed City to join United. David Eze and Karim Cassim represent merely two instances of a vast array of elite young prospects who switch between the nation’s biggest clubs at an increasingly tender age.
United also secured the Fletcher twins from City and they recruited Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi from Arsenal, while over at City, the Blues brought Ryan McAidoo into their setup two years ago from Chelsea and captured the highly-regarded Divine Mukasa from West Ham.
There’s a battle raging away from the pitch between the two clubs(Image: (Photo by Alex Livesey – The FA/The FA via Getty Images))
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
City battled fiercely to retain 16-year-old Xavier Parker at the club this summer despite interest from numerous top sides, United amongst them.
In an alternative reality, Kobbie Mainoo could have been shining in blue rather than red. The midfielder joined United’s academy aged nine, but he attended both United and City’s academies as a youngster, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Mainoo opted to join United’s academy and while City tried to tempt him away at ages when it would have been feasible, he decided to remain each time.
Although there exists considerable mutual respect between the two clubs, the rivalry cannot be denied, which became evident after City claimed the FA Youth Cup when Darren Fletcher slammed City for announcing the names of coaches during the trophy ceremony.
While City declined to respond to Fletcher’s post-match grievances, the club’s hierarchy privately found the situation amusing given that Fletcher’s sons, Jack and Tyler, had been enrolled at the academy during their early development.
United sources considered this peculiar since Fletcher had offered no criticism of City’s academy structure.
Kobbie Mainoo could have been playing in Sky Blue(Image: Richard Sellers/Getty Images)
The fierce competition for the finest young prospects, which can frequently deliver exceptional value amid the enormous transfer fees commanded at senior level, is certainly motivated partly by financial considerations.
But also includes a development element with clubs eager to demonstrate to youngsters they can progress into first-team contenders. The most gifted teenagers often hold considerable leverage given the array of choices before them.
City Academy Director Thomas Krucken, speaking exclusively to the Talking City podcast this week, suggested he believes the transfer of talent between elite clubs has always occurred, but is perhaps more visible to the public nowadays. “I think this was always the case,” he said.
“We as Manchester City want to keep the level of being the best, we want to get the best staff members we can get to develop them in our way that they are able to deliver the content we want them to deliver and obviously we want the best players around.”
He added: “I think it is always in waves and this is the market. This is always an ongoing process of clubs see something in a talent and want to get that talent into their programme.
“The market changed in terms of the numbers. England and the Premier League is obviously different to every other market but this is just part of the game, at the moment it is clubs trying to sign players quite early but our vision is that we want to get the best talent as early as possible into this academy with a clear pathway.”
Phil Foden has spent his entire career at Man City(Image: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock)
City do recruit players from other clubs but the approach at the Etihad is to ensure the finest local talent enters the City system early. Those who have progressed to the first team in recent years, from Phil Foden to Rico Lewis to Nico O’Reilly, all joined City before they were 10.
The challenge City face – even as one of the premier academies in the country with a proven route into the most successful club side in England over the past decade, is keeping the predators at bay.
At United, the club are striving to enhance the academy to ensure it remains amongst the elite once more. Snapping up the finest talent in the 16-18 age bracket is one route to achieving success, but United have traditionally taken pride in nurturing their own prospects.
The academy’s current poster boy is Mainoo, who revealed earlier this year that he fully grasps the significance of his position for future generations.
“It’s definitely important. I mean, for me, it was important,” said Mainoo. “It’s a big thing that United’s built on, players coming through the Academy.”
Former United Academy director Nick Cox claimed that the youth setup lies at the heart of United’s identity, while his successor, Stephen Torpey, previously a City academy coach, is determined to transform United into a genuine powerhouse at youth level, following criticism of the system from Sir Jim Ratcliffe in recent years.
JJ Gabriel is the latest super talent at Carrington(Image: (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))
“The brief for me, so to speak, is just that we want to be the best, we want to be the greatest academy around, we want to be the greatest football club in the world. That’s not changed,” he explained in an interview with the Manchester Evening News in March.
“I think Manchester United can say over the years, certainly in the UK, that we’ve got the conveyor belt of talent, we’ve got the production line that would suggest we are up there with the greatest.
“And my remit is to make sure that we can all look in the mirror, hand on heart, and say that we feel we’re really challenging for that status. And my view really is that we’ve just got to think critically about what we do, we’ve got to innovate where we can, and we’ve got to do this with the best possible people.
“We’ve got some unbelievable people. You arrive to a real warm welcome with people who are good at what they do, experienced at what they do. But ultimately, there are things we can improve, there are areas where we can be better, but that’s evolution, that’s just common in every single organisation.”
The academy transformation is perhaps turning into a complete overhaul, with United and City positioned at the very centre of it all.
