87 | James McAtee - 2024/25

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Ric said:
Looks like he's on his way :(

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Will be another Palmer situation.

The club will reap some benefits to another academy kid making waves, it definitely attracts more clubs to pay bigger fees for our other academy products, it’s good advertising for the academy when trying f to attract the best kids, but ultimately Khaldoon keeps telling us the club wants academy players in the team.

So by his own words it’s another failure to translate a very high potential academy kid to a first team player.

I’m sure there’ll be a 500 page thread full of arguments about if he should have stayed or not.

Also the more players leave and find success, the quicker the next bunch of academy kids will decide they’ll move on instead of waiting around to get a chance at City.
 
domalino said:
Also the more players leave and find success, the quicker the next bunch of academy kids will decide they’ll move on instead of waiting around to get a chance at City.
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Or the next bunch of academy kids will know that if they can break into the first team at City, even briefly, they'll be set for a nice £25m transfer (at least) and nice top-flight career. City might not offer many paths to our first team but if you're a 16-year-old lad looking to learn with the best and then leave for £25-30m when you're 22, where else would you go?

The Academy hasn't been about producing players for the first team for ages. Since the CFA was built it's almost exclusively been about selling players on and turning tidy profits. Sometimes that means we let go of a player like Palmer for £45m, but other times it means selling players like Iheanacho for £28m, or Sancho for £20m, or Angelino for £18m.

It's the risk we take but they can't all work out, so we might as well make some cash off them and keep the books balanced.
 
domalino said:
Will be another Palmer situation.

The club will reap some benefits to another academy kid making waves, it definitely attracts more clubs to pay bigger fees for our other academy products, it’s good advertising for the academy when trying f to attract the best kids, but ultimately Khaldoon keeps telling us the club wants academy players in the team.

So by his own words it’s another failure to translate a very high potential academy kid to a first team player.

I’m sure there’ll be a 500 page thread full of arguments about if he should have stayed or not.

Also the more players leave and find success, the quicker the next bunch of academy kids will decide they’ll move on instead of waiting around to get a chance at City.
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And yet of all the academy players we've let go of in the last 7 or so years, other than Palmer and maybe Porro (hes not anywhere close to Walker) not a single one of them have proven they'd have been good enough for us (maybe Morgan Rogers but that just shows how bad we currently are, he's not City level)

Sancho isn't good enough, Brahim isn't good enough, Lavia isn't good(fit) enough, Trafford isn't, Couto isn't, Delap isn't, Edozie isn't, Gyabi isn't, Shea isn't, Harwood-Beillis isn't, Maffeo isn't, Harrison, Angeliho isnt, Doyle isnt etc. etc. etc.

If you think they are, you would prefer us being a Europa conference team not one going for the Prem and the champions leagje

2 or 3 mistakes in there but for the most part we've got it right, the ones we didn't we got £45mil for and the other wasn't one of ours, we bought him in
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
Correct!

I think the £30-40m valuation is maybe a bit toppy though!

Doesn’t bother me if no academy players make it with us. They are valuable in terms of what you have alluded to and they end up with good careers in many cases. They are just not top 4 standard.
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Does the club not lose a bit of identity if we don’t produce our own players?

Is there the same value in success by just trading players and paying large fees than being successful with a number of your own players?

I just look at the Barca team and think about Messi, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and now the likes of Yamal, Cubarski, Pedri, Gavi.

I think there is massive value to playing the best kids from the Academy. Their strength of feeling for the club and , I think, they become elevated by their peers around them.

United won a shed loads of trophies, supported by kids from the academy who, when moving elsewhere, were found out not to be so great.
 
Worsleyweb said:
He is not good enough for us - that simple
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Yeah, as much as everyone hoped differently, what he's actually done on the pitch I think has shown that.

Good player and he'll get a good move. I don't see him blowing up like Palmer either (doesn't seem to have that confidence/arrogance). I reckon he'll either settle as a very good PL player or slowly improve to the point where he becomes top level, but he just wouldn't get the game time and opportunities staying with us.
 
franksinatra said:
Does the club not lose a bit of identity if we don’t produce our own players?

Is there the same value in success by just trading players and paying large fees than being successful with a number of your own players?

I just look at the Barca team and think about Messi, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and now the likes of Yamal, Cubarski, Pedri, Gavi.

I think there is massive value to playing the best kids from the Academy. Their strength of feeling for the club and , I think, they become elevated by their peers around them.

United won a shed loads of trophies, supported by kids from the academy who, when moving elsewhere, were found out not to be so great.
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All valid points, but if Pep is not going to allow these players to play within our set-up, then they have to move on to further their careers.

And of course bring in transfer fees which is now an important element of our business plan.
 
franksinatra said:
Does the club not lose a bit of identity if we don’t produce our own players?

Is there the same value in success by just trading players and paying large fees than being successful with a number of your own players?

I just look at the Barca team and think about Messi, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and now the likes of Yamal, Cubarski, Pedri, Gavi.

I think there is massive value to playing the best kids from the Academy. Their strength of feeling for the club and , I think, they become elevated by their peers around them.

United won a shed loads of trophies, supported by kids from the academy who, when moving elsewhere, were found out not to be so great.
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If the quality isn't there, it's not there. Great players are born, not made.
 
Lavinda Past said:
If the quality isn't there, it's not there. Great players are born, not made.
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I guess the most great one are somehow born in Barcelona then? Most of the current players within the squad wouldn’t play if it wasn’t for an injury and economical crises. When you look at O’Reilly I think there were more options within the academy who could’ve such an impact. Not saying the club needs to give every talent a chance but sometimes you don’t need to buy from outside
Without Dembele moving to PSG. Yamal still wouldn’t start.
 
King Jay said:
I guess the most great one are somehow born in Barcelona then? Most of the current players within the squad wouldn’t play if it wasn’t for an injury and economical crises. When you look at O’Reilly I think there were more options within the academy who could’ve such an impact. Not saying the club needs to give every talent a chance but sometimes you don’t need to buy from outside
Without Dembele moving to PSG. Yamal still wouldn’t start.
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I think you have covered pretty much how I was going to respond.

Genetics no doubt play a part but being coached correctly, provided with the environment to prosper and given the opportunity can make all the difference.

Through necessity Barca have had to give some players an opportunity and the results a title success, Copa Rey title and narrow defeat in one of the best Champions league ties ever produced. All with two 17 year olds and anything between another 3/4 academy graduates playing every week.

No doubt when Cubarsi first played all the same questions were being asked about his experience, age and there playing for a club where pressure/exposure/criticism would far exceed anything City players would face.

We have literally played a kid from the academy, attacking midfielder at left back, with zero experience this year and he has not let anyone down. Hope we can learn from that as we have seen the likes of Lavia, Cole-Palmer leave one week and light up the Premiership a month later.
 
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franksinatra said:
Does the club not lose a bit of identity if we don’t produce our own players?

Is there the same value in success by just trading players and paying large fees than being successful with a number of your own players?

I just look at the Barca team and think about Messi, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and now the likes of Yamal, Cubarski, Pedri, Gavi.

I think there is massive value to playing the best kids from the Academy. Their strength of feeling for the club and , I think, they become elevated by their peers around them.

United won a shed loads of trophies, supported by kids from the academy who, when moving elsewhere, were found out not to be so great.
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True.

Unfortunately, times have moved on since then and it’s very unlikely you will see five local lads in the side week in week out as most academy kids are not local anyway.

I get your point though.
 
Norman kneejerk said:
I think he will do OK for someone because he's lacking confidence atm and will improve as that grows.
But I don't see it as another Palmer situation and ss much as I have been rooting for him there are probably better options out there now.
So probs best all round really..
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Yes I think McAtee, like Foden are very different characters to the likes of Cole-Palmer/Sancho and consequently may require a bit more patience to get the best out of them.

One size does not fit all, hence I always thought it was a nonsense to suggest Foden go out on loan just because it worked for a bit of an extrovert like Sancho.
 
youngbob said:
Or the next bunch of academy kids will know that if they can break into the first team at City, even briefly, they'll be set for a nice £25m transfer (at least) and nice top-flight career. City might not offer many paths to our first team but if you're a 16-year-old lad looking to learn with the best and then leave for £25-30m when you're 22, where else would you go?

The Academy hasn't been about producing players for the first team for ages. Since the CFA was built it's almost exclusively been about selling players on and turning tidy profits. Sometimes that means we let go of a player like Palmer for £45m, but other times it means selling players like Iheanacho for £28m, or Sancho for £20m, or Angelino for £18m.

It's the risk we take but they can't all work out, so we might as well make some cash off them and keep the books balanced.
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I agree with your post. Need only look at the link below to see how important the youth set up is for us. The very best will come through, the second tier and below will find a great career elsewhere. If I were a parent of a kid looking for a future in the game I would be delighted to be offered a development contract at City.
www.transfermarkt.co.uk

Sancho, Palmer and Couto - how much do Man City make from selling youth academy players?

Manchester City have been nothing short of all-conquering since Pep Guardiola joined the club in 2016 and, with the money afforded to him and his backroom team by the club’s Abu Dhabi Royal family own [...]
www.transfermarkt.co.uk www.transfermarkt.co.uk
 
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