Manchester City can boast a stellar senior squad – although there is also an admirable amount of focus placed on the next generation too.
The Citizens have not rested on their laurels amid vast success under Pep Guardiola, moving to sign top talents for the future such as Claudio Echeverri and Juma Bah – while Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis are only 21 and 19 respectively.
Manchester City attempted to bring another wonderkid to the Etihad Stadium in 2024 after an approach was made to Konstantinos Karetsas – who is now being monitored by some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Konstantinos Karetsas now shining after rejecting Manchester City
Manchester City tried to bring the 17-year-old to the City Football Academy for a trial back in 2024, although it was said he did not like the approach.
That was according to Vaios Karetsas – the Greece international’s father – who said (via the Manchester Evening News): “RB Leipzig, Milan and even Manchester City invited us several times to come and have a look. We didn’t like it.
“The only team outside Genk where we had discussions was Ajax. Purely because it is close by and we have a lot of respect for that club.”
Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
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Manchester City were clearly onto something – however – as Karetsas is now starting to become a hot property.
Tutto Mercato Web believe Manchester United and Liverpool are chasing the teenager after his superb goal for Greece against Scotland, which saw him become the youngest goalscorer in Greek football history.
Pep Guardiola would have struggled to show Konstantinos Karetsas a clear pathway
It is probably for the best that Karetsas stays away from the Etihad Stadium for now as he learns his trade.
17 years and 124 days 🤩
Introducing Konstantinos Karetsas 🇬🇷#NationsLeague | @EthnikiOmada pic.twitter.com/J2rO4hGdz9
— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) March 26, 2025
The Greek prodigy tends to line up on the right flank, where he cuts inside on his left foot, although Guardiola – who wants Florian Wirtz – already has Bernardo Silva and Savinho who operate similarly in that area, as does James McAtee.
Therefore, Vaios Karetsas was arguably correct to ignore Manchester City for now – with his son starting to blossom with regular playing time at Genk.