Pep Guardiola has called in three Manchester City youngsters for training this week including the talented son of a former Liverpool and England star
13:32, 27 Aug 2025
Reigan Heskey of Manchester City is training with Pep Guardiola's first team squad
Reigan Heskey of Manchester City is training with Pep Guardiola's first team squad
Pep Guardiola has called up three Manchester City youngsters to train with his first team ahead of their match against Brighton, including the son of a former Liverpool and England star.
Following a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham, the Spanish boss has enlisted Reigan Heskey, Ryan McAidoo and Divine Mukasa ahead of Sunday's fixture. And you don't need to guess whose famous footsteps Reigan, 17, will be following in, if goes on to make a Premier League debut for the Citizens.
The left winger is of course the son of Emile Heskey - the towering forward who won 62 England caps and was a key figure in Liverpool's famous treble cup winning side of 2001 under Gerard Houllier, when he lifted the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
Reigan is the second son of the ex-Leicester City, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers striker, whose eldest son, Jaden, 19, is also on Manchester City's books. Reigan scored in a 3-1 victory for City's U21s over West Ham on Friday.
And the former Three Lions star was present when the U21s defeated Oldham 5-1 in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, with Jaden appearing, but Reigan left out as a result of his call-up, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Emile Heskey celebrating a goal for Liverpool with Steven Gerrard in the background
Emile Heskey won a hat-trick of trophies with Liverpool in the 2000-2001 season(Image: Getty Images)
His team-mate Mukasa, 18, was the only youngster of the three to be involved with the first team over summer, after Guardiola decided not to take any academy players to the Club World Cup. With four new signings and a manager already expressing discontent at the size of his squad, the academy players missed out on their usual opportunity to shine in pre-season.
That changed when Mukasa travelled with the squad to Palermo for their only pre-season friendly. The playmaker came on for Erling Haaland in the last 30 minutes and provided an assist for Tijjani Reijnders, putting in an impressive performance.
The goal was the handiwork of another 17-year-old, McAidoo, a right winger who has already scored once and provided two assists in just two appearances this year. This includes an assist against his former club Chelsea, which he left last year to join City's academy.
Jaden Heskey is also on Manchester City's books
Jaden Heskey is also on Manchester City's books(Image: Getty Images)
All three young talents will be keen to impress as Guardiola explores different options in the early stages of the season. It's intriguing to see three forwards being called up for first team training amidst ongoing uncertainty over the future of Savinho, who recently posted a picture of a suitcase on social media, sparking rumours of interest from Tottenham.
City were given a reality check by Tottenham over the weekend, suffering a 2-0 defeat at home after kicking off their Premier League campaign with a resounding 4-0 win against Wolves. They're set to face Brighton on Sunday - a match they lost last season - as they aim to return to their winning ways.
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Young defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey played in the defeat to Brighton last season, before going on to clinch the Premier League 2 Player of the Season award as part of a title-winning team, and subsequently securing a loan move to Celtic for this season.