Manchester City are making changes in their academy this summer as Under-21 coach Ben Wilkinson leaves for Derby County
Ben Wilkinson, head coach of Manchester City U21, during the Premier League 2 Play-Off Semi-Final match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Joie Stadium
Manchester City Under-21 boss Ben Wilkinson is leaving the club this summer
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Manchester City are set to make two coaching appointments as Under-21s boss Ben Wilkinson heads to Derby County. After two years in the role and several more at the club, Wilkinson is leaving to assist Rams boss John Eustace in the Championship and goes with City's blessing.
As is often the case at the City Football Academy, the club are planning to fill the role internally. Oli Reiss has done a superb job with the Under-18s for the last two years and is expected to step up to take charge of the older age group, signing off with an FA Youth Cup final victory over United last month.
That opens up the Under-18s vacancy, which is also set to be an internal vacancy. Lauris Coggin, who assisted Wilkinson with the Under-21s last year after spending a decade in West Ham's academy that included his final year there as lead coach for their Under-18s, has been lined up to step into Reiss's shoes.
City will be sorry to lose Wilkinson but have come to accept that their academy coaches will be coveted just as their players are. Brian Barry-Murphy, Wilkinson's predecessor, joined Leicester's coaching team before taking the reins at Cardiff and before Barry-Murphy came Enzo Maresca, who back at the Etihad as Pep Guardiola's successor.
Reiss has impressed with the Under-18s, reaching four finals in two years and proving popular with players. His promotion, and Coggin coming, in will give City continuity and stability for the start of the season, with academy players returning for pre-season in July and a number of them having a chance of heading to Asia with Maresca and the first team given so many senior stars are at the World Cup.