Manchester City ended their Premier League campaign with a second spot and a UEFA Champions League qualification for the third consecutive time under Pep Guardiola. The Citizens are still in the European Cup competition and will face Olympique Lyon in the quarterfinals. Only one trophy in 2019/20 season doesn’t look good for Pep Guardiola and will look to win the elite competition with Manchester City. However, the Manchester club is guilty of one thing. That is, the club is unable to keep hold of their academy graduates for a long time.
This comes after one of the talented youngsters, Eric Garcia, is leaving the club after both the parties failed to reach the agreement regarding the contract. The former La Masia product is keen to make a move back to Camp Nou after finding it difficult for the game time. It is not the first time that the academy graduates are leaving the club. Manchester City are guilty of selling the winger, Jadon Sancho.
The List of Manchester City graduates:
Jadon Sancho might not regret leaving the club as he took Bundesliga by storm. He has 40 G/A in the 2019/20 season. However, the club’s 15% sell-on clause will be handy for Manchester City as they will get a good amount if he is sold. But, Pep Guardiola will be lamenting on his ruined chances.
Brahim Diaz, one more talented teenager, left Manchester in search of greener pastures. However, choosing Real Madrid over Manchester City for more game time was a curious call. After a 15 million pound move to the Spanish capital, the player seems to be lost. He has played a total of 77 minutes in the 2019/20 season. Diaz seems to be away from the first-team action at Bernabeu than in Etihad.
The list doesn’t end here. One of the high rate wingers, Jayden Braff, Charlie McNeill and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are looking to move away or set to depart from Etihad to clubs like RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.
Is it too competitive?
On the other hand, against Real Madrid, Phil Foden was instrumental in Citizens’ success. Even though the likes of Kevin de Bruyne were present, Phil Foden made his way to the starting line-up. The player had the pass success percentage of 74% with 32 touches on the field. Though these stats aren’t impressive, one should remember the numbers were against the midfield heavy Madrid side. Though the number of players graduating from the academy are higher, making it into first XI is seeming to hot for the youngsters.
It will not be surprising to see if more players follow the same suit. With Manchester City and Pep Guardiola signing brilliant talents out of the academy, it can spell doom on them. In the Premier League 2020/21 season, the rules will be reverted back to three substitutions and six substitutes on the bench. If the youngsters don’t get the first-team experience, the club would demise though they have loads of money.
