Manchester City have effectively conjured £137million out of thin air in the shape of several talents in their ranks who are now said to be worth big sums.
Although Manchester City have had plenty of superb players in their ranks, they weren’t quite as big on promoting academy stars in the past.
However, things now seem to be changing. Phil Foden is the biggest success story to emerge from the City Football Academy and there are others in the senior setup too.
A great academy can not only bolster the first-team ranks with top talents, but also benefit the club from a financial perspective.
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Jeremy Doku of Manchester City (second left) celebrates with teammates Rico Lewis, Nico O'Reilly and Phil Foden after scoring his team's first goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Watford at Etihad Stadium on September 24, 2024
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Manchester City have several academy graduates who are worth big money
Foden is the biggest asset to emerge from City’s academy, having become a star for club and country.
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His Transfermarkt value currently stands at €100million, which works out at around £87million.
Likewise, Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly joined City’s academy as youngsters and have risen to the ranks of the senior team.
Their TM valuations are €40million and €18million respectively, which works out at around £35million and £16million.
In total, the Man City trio are worth around £138million, an incredible return on investment considering they cost nothing in transfer fees.
Oscar Bobb has not been included as it’s unknown how much City paid Valerenga for him, but he is said to be worth €25million (£21million).
If we just assume he cost a very low nominal fee, then the quartet would be worth around £159million.
And with City’s academy impressing at U21 and U18 level last year, there could be yet more top talents ready to make the step up.
Stephen Mfuni could be one of the next City youngsters to make the step up to the first-team. Fans seem to think so too.
How Manchester City can improve their academy graduates’ valuations further
Man City could look to take a leaf out of Liverpool’s book when it comes to getting the most out of their academy graduates.
In all fairness, it’s quite simple – they need to become trusted first-team players who are given plenty of minutes in the top competitions, including a fair few starts.
Liverpool managed to sell Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for £35million, which shocked plenty of neutrals – but Reds fans were not surprised in the slightest.