The Manchester Evening News spent the day at Manchester City's academy as the Under-18s prepared for their FA Youth Cup semi-final.
A day in the life of a Manchester City academy footballer
A day in the life of a Manchester City academy footballer
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The stairs behind the reception area in Manchester City's academy carry plaques on the wall of every player from the building in recent years to make their senior debut for the club. On a warm Tuesday morning in April, some of those faces can be found a few steps away as the Under-18s wait patiently for a team meeting.
Inside the small lecture theatre is their coach Oli Reiss, in animated discussion with his staff about a late change to a slide on the presentation. Reiss, who found it tough initially to get his ideas over in English when he moved from Germany to take the role at the beginning of last season, isn't sure that 'Work vs Play' is the right phrase to articulate his desire for the players to enjoy the less fun parts of the game.
The clock hits 9am and that uncertainty is instantly forgotten as Reiss opens the door to greet all of his players with hearty welcomes as they shuffle in to take their seats. They are used to a few of these meetings every week to review and preview games, and this is already their second in as many days.
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As preparation for their FA Youth Cup semi-final with Blackburn, six clips are used from City's win over Everton in the previous round to highlight different defensive concepts. Mostly though, the 18-minute talk is about getting everyone in the room to want to play for the team again - particularly as players such as Ryan McAidoo, Reigan Heskey and Kaden Braithwaite have dropped down from the Under-21s or first team training ahead of this special cup game.
"I have always a target in my head, players cannot listen for more than 20 minutes, then 15 minutes, then just remember what was first and last and nothing between," Reiss tells the Manchester Evening News. "Sometimes I enjoy myself speaking and talking, like today a little bit. I know everything that I want to say but sometimes it just comes in the flow.
"Then it is up to me and the others, whoever is delivering the session, not to have it too boring. You can use different things, whether it is a joke for everyone to laugh and wake up again. There is a target, not longer than 20 minutes hopefully but I cannot say that I am always good at this.
"We try to find a good balance between the content, details and tactical things we need and how much we need to create an atmosphere that everyone wants to play in this team so the players coming down are happy to be here. Of course they have to focus on details and tactics and football content but first of all they believe in this 100 per cent, how fast and how soon can they be back in this kind of mood enjoying working and playing together in this group.
Oli Reiss speaks to his players in their morning meeting
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The players take on plenty of detail in those meetings, and before Friday's game they will also have separate 'unit' meetings - one with the defence and holding midfielder, the other with the attackers - to drill down on the specifics. It can be a lot to take in but City youngsters know that they have to understand the concepts given to them if they are to make it.
Those with experience of the first team building know that meetings will only become a bigger part of their week if they move up. Given there is little time for City to train between matches as they play in multiple competitions, Guardiola gets most of his ideas across in a lecture theatre; as No.2 Pep Lijnders joked recently: "There are two things certain in Manchester: the weather is not that good and Pep doing meetings with the team."
There is time to process that as players warm up at their own pace in the gym in the 40 minutes before training. The space is a long rectangle in the middle of the building with glass on all sides shooting up from the bottom floor to the top, allowing it to be a central hub and giving an inclusive feel even for those players who are working inside because they are sidelined with injury.
Music pumps up through the gym to add an energy to the corridors, with the 'Just The Way You Are' song that has taken over the City fanbase a solid pick on playlists. Those sounds are soon replaced by the wind as the players head out for their first session of the day.
With the Joie Stadium and Etihad Stadium in the background, the squad are quickly short of breath as they run a 6x6 drill where three of each team take turns going forward to try to stop their opponents completing 10 passes between them in a rondo. Over 20 minutes, the rules are tweaked to change the number of touches allowed in possession.
A quick drinks break is followed by 4vs3 attacking exercises where the emphasis is on quick finishes and then deep runs. In an academy that has consistently been producing tricky wingers in the mould of Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, there is a particular buzz whenever Ryan McAidoo and Reigan Heskey get on the ball.
The pair have both made their senior debuts under Guardiola this season as well as training with the first team, and it has just been a learning experience for all when they have moved between the teams. Youngsters going up to train are told to be themselves, but they know that their behaviour will be scrutinised as much as their ability and that extra opportunities bring extra pressure.
Oliver Reiss let his Manchester City coaches lead the training session but stepped in at specific moments
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Trying to get into one of the best sides in world football is impossible for over 99 per cent of the population, so just having that chance is as terrifying as it is exciting. Add in the fact that academy players are still developing mentally as well as physically and scenarios such as the training before their FA Youth Cup match with Chelsea in February are entirely understandable.
"We had our match plan but you could see that some of their lads were coming back to their age group, and it was a little bit silly. I was not happy at the end and I told them no, no," said Reiss.
"And I apologised a little bit the next day, because I was still not happy but I thought maybe this is a super strength because the reason why it was so silly is probably because we are not just a group of players but they are your friends and your mates on the pitch. Otherwise, you would not be silly. So maybe this is a special strength, so I tried to turn it into something positive. It was not the same yesterday and today. There's always a little bit but I can accept it - maybe I like it when there is enough focus.
"When you come from the first team or the EDS to the 18s, it's not the same pressure. You have to accept this. I cannot say 'Hey you are not doing this, you are not playing'. Of course he is playing," he said.
"There was one situation today where someone was not running back to the edge of the box, which was the responsibility of his position, and they nearly scored a goal. I went past him and I said: 'On Friday, you will do it, You are aware that you should do this?' 'Yeah, yeah'. Then I can accept this a little bit, because what can I do?
"I could do more, I could scream but then I could lose him. I don't want to say I'm always right in this but I try to find the balance.
"It's top to be here and to live here but also they're coming here at 13 or 14 up to 19 - where is the part of a normal life, being a normal teenager? I'm not sure. There are players where it is good for them but there are also players where they need that part of normal teenager life.
"I believe in this a lot that we should not produce them like in a factory. Let them be teenagers. This was not your best idea? Learn. It's not 'no, that's not a City player'".
It is seen as important by the club and academy director Thomas Krucken that the staff are open to learning and developing themselves as much as the players are. City's academy coaches have tutorials on the best ways to connect and communicate with them given they are generations apart and to make sure that they keep the attention and trust of those they are tasked with developing.
It is a reality in football that some players are better than others in a squad and there is a natural hierarchy led by experience. The further along someone is in their career, especially at youth level, the more authority they will carry.
Every player who comes through City's academy is required to excel in every part of being a footballer though, and so at the end of their 90-minute training two of the group head over to the club's broadcast studio. Charlie Courtman and Harrison Miles are interviewed by club media as part of a monthly round robin of media duties that all players will have to go through, and this time it includes filming promotional videos for the club's social media channels to encourage people to attend the FA Youth Cup semi-final.
Harrison Miles of Manchester City during an U18s training session at the Manchester City Football Academy on 07 April 2026 in Manchester, England (Photo by Lexy Ilsley / Manchester City FC)
Harrison Miles sits down with club media as part of monthly appearances that the players make(Image: Lexy Isley/Manchester City)
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Courtman only needs one take and receives encouragement on his first time in the studio, and then watches from the gallery as his teammates sits down to speak. It is more natural for Miles, who has already been pushed into appearing on City's matchday shows as well as being interviewed by the Manchester Evening News.
After half an hour the duo are free to head up for lunch back in the main building and, just like breakfast, there are a host of choices with chefs preparing a smorgasbord of options for all the junior boys and girls teams that are based in the academy. Alongside salads and soups there is a choice of soy meatballs, salt and pepper chicken, and miso cod with rice and noodles prepared by the in-house chefs.
"I try to eat what the club give us because it is specialised for football and footballers to help us perform every day. I try and have what City give us, but again we're all still kids so maybe on a Sunday when we haven't got a game or the meal may be after the game then I can almost let my hair down and be a kid again, but again still reminding myself that I am a professional footballer," said 17-year-old midfielder Miles.
"You just have to monitor things like nutrition and how much you do on and off the pitch but I feel like I have a good balance at the moment. It's changed for me because I have finished my education stuff so I have a bit more free time. I'm literally just a professional footballer now, I don't do any college work.
"I'm just focused on football so I wake up, go down for breakfast, we'll have a meeting in the morning probably and then go out and train for an hour and a half, have lunch, gym and then for the boys that have got education they'll go and do education but for that's me done so I'm free to enjoy the rest of the day.
"It definitely makes you realise how much free time you actually have. I try and utilise it to make me better as a footballer. It might not even be on pitch sessions, it could be watching my games back, analysing what I can do better and need to work on but also going out with my mates, enjoying the sunshine! It's a mix of everything."
Even for those who have finished their school education, there are still extra lessons on their football curriculum. On this particular day the schedule is filled with media training, with an external consultant brought in to prepare them for their future careers as well as the present.
First-year scholars are taught how to learn to tell engaging stories about their background that will sell themselves in interviews, while the second years are taught how to stick to club messaging in a potentially damaging story. There are plenty of useful tips in there and interviewees are filmed for instant feedback from the group, although given the session focuses on a nightmare scenario that most if not all will not encounter, it is to be hoped that there are many more sessions that better reflect the constructive and respectful relationship with the external media that will be the reality for all going forward.
of Manchester City during an U18s training session at the Manchester City Football Academy on 07 April 2026 in Manchester, England (Photo by Lexy Ilsley / Manchester City FC)
Floyd Samba and Dante Headley put their media training into practice with Simon Bajkowski from the Manchester Evening News(Image: Lexy Isley/Manchester City)
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Once the hour session ends, the players then put their boots on again and head back out to the training pitch for 30 minutes of set-piece drills. The best takers in the squad fire corners and free-kicks into a packed box, and the defensive team has to not only keep the ball away from their net but also try to break forward and score on the counter.
It is mentally and physically tiring, yet with the afternoon sun warming the pitches it makes for an easier and better session. The players are naturally in better moods as they get themselves up for a semi-final, and the staff can take more time to explain details or review plays because they are not worrying about needing to keep moving and can get more content in.
Braithwaite, who made his senior debut at the beginning of last season in the Carabao Cup, has spent the majority of the season with the Under-18s simply because of the number of defenders in front of him. Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi have been added to Guardiola's options in the last 14 months, while Max Alleyne, Steph Mfuni, Harrison Parker and Kian Noble have all played in the Under-21s.
Having only turned 18 in February - he was only 16 when he played for the first team - Braithwaite has time on his side though and Phil Foden and Nico O'Reilly are handy examples of players who were not pushed through the age groups yet have gone on to thrive.
Leading the Under-18s team as captain has allowed Braithwaite to develop in other ways and as the end of the season approaches with City aiming for a league and cup double, the teenager is looking to join an illustrious list of academy players who have their pictures displayed around the campus lifting silverware.
"You see players that have won it previously, and they're all doing unbelievable now," he says to the Manchester Evening News. "Winning youth trophies like this gives you a massive boost and it is really important in youth football to create a winners' mentality in the team so that it transfers into the men's game.
"Every competition is different. That's better when you're trying to push toward the next step and play in the first team because that's what it's about really, what you're going to be up against that week in, week out. That's important to do in academy football."
As Braithwaite and most of the squad make their way off the pitch to finish their days how they see fit, four of the group stay behind. Joining Miles are winger Kylan Midwood and attackers Karim Cassim and Teddie Lamb. The quartet have half an hour of individual learning to round off their days intended to combine skills that should help them for their next match with long-term development.
Joe Peterson and Teddie Lamb of Manchester City during an U18s training session at the Manchester City Football Academy on 07 April 2026 in Manchester, England (Photo by Lexy Ilsley / Manchester City FC)
Teddie Lamb is put through his paces in an individual session
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Individual learning has become an increasingly prominent part of the City schedule since Thomas Krucken became academy director in 2023, with the German making sure that time is now set aside every week for players to have individual sessions - either on the pitch, in the gym or in the classroom - where they can work on specialist skills that they can then bring back to training and matches.
Reiss leads a new drill for the quartet where midfielder Miles is harried when he receives the ball and has to get it forward. There is also pressure on the No.9 Lamb, who is being grappled with and has to get free of his marker to either receive the ball from Miles and lay it off or get in the box for Midwood or Cassim to find him.
This is Lamb's first season at the club after arriving from Leyton Orient in a deal worth £355,000 - a lot for a 16-year-old - and the fact that he arrived having already signed up with one of the biggest talent agencies shows it is not just City who see his potential. Already one of the tallest in the group and with a strapping physique and powerful left foot, Lamb is an old-fashioned No.9 but also a young striker in the mould of the best of all: Erling Haaland.
A big price tag or a lofty comparison can add pressure to youngsters and there is a danger in an academy like City that players can be swallowed up. Lamb has embraced it so far though and - helped by the individual sessions - has exceeded his own expectations.
"For attacking players like me, wide players and 10s, it was just getting repetitions in for attacking positions like crosses, back facing to the goal and through balls, so improving situations that happen again and again," he says. "I've not done that specific drill before, but variants of them and getting extra out of sessions like that.
"For me, as a striker, a lot of it is psychology on and off the pitch and then finishing drills - different scenarios where you can impose yourself in the game, in and around the box just to get the finishes in that you don't usually get in each game or training. They're challenging, they try to make it as realistic as possible and you always get joy from getting goals.
"I didn't think I'd be as good as I was but when you get here and get all the coaches helping you and giving you the confidence it is incredible. The trust from the coaches as a first year who has never played 18s before to put their faith in me and I think I've been repaying that pretty well."
Miles has waited for Lamb to finish talking before the pair walk off together, thick as thieves. The day is officially over but the players are free to do what they like before they return the next day to increase their preparations for the Blackburn game: more meetings, more training.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Reigan Heskey of Manchester City celebrates after scoring their side's third goal from the penalty spot during the FA Youth Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers at Joie Stadium on April 10, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Floyd Samba (left) and Tyrone Samba (right) celebrate with Reigan Heskey (centre)
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Lamb does enough to earn a start in the FA Youth Cup semi-final and plenty of Blackburn fans have made the short journey to try and help their team upset the odds. They are cheering early when a routine ball over the top is misjudged by Leke Drake and Valentin Joseph holds off Braithwaite to score the first goal of the game.
Reiss isn't happy, with the home team seeing plenty of the ball but not being patient enough as they try to score the 'perfect' goal. Shortly before half-time though, McAidoo shows what he is all about and cuts inside his man on the edge of the box before surprising the keeper at the near post.
The winger doesn't celebrate, instead running back to his own half and urging his teammates to follow him, and from there a different City emerges and they run out comfortable 4-1 winners. Their second goal comes courtesy of Lamb, wrestling free of his marker to pounce on a free ball.
Four days later he is back inside the Joie Stadium netting his 21st goal in 22 appearances this season after converting a penalty against Sunderland that he won. There are six changes from the FA Youth Cup win - Midwood and Cassim are two that come in to reunite the quartet from the session the previous week - but City pick up a 4-1 victory to leapfrog league leaders United on goal difference with a game in hand.
City need at least four wins from their final five games to book a second successive national final in the league, and as well as aiming to pip local rivals United in that the Blues could also have a Manchester derby in their third successive FA Youth Cup final; United play Palace Under-18s on Friday.
The players have to be thinking about what they are going to be doing and where next season but as they arrive to work every day at the City Football Academy there is an extra excitement in the air for what lies immediately in front of them. Alongside Guardiola's first team, Andree Jeglertz's women's team and Ben Wilkinson's Under-21s, every side at the campus has silverware in their sights.
Reiss and his young players do not know which minute or hour they have spent at the City Football Academy could make the difference in their next game, or final, or move. But as they shuffle into the same lecture theatre on Wednesday morning, they know that every day they spend there brings them closer to their shared dream of making it in the professional game.