I think City monitoring mentalities & motivations starts from 6 year olds. Mentality & character is as important to City as talent.
If kids & their parents can't wait until age 12 for all the bells & whistles, alarm bells should sound. The success of our academy sides points to this being the right approach from City.
If Emilio does return, there can be no stronger signal of what is expected of academy students by City. It must have been killing Emilio watching his mates happy & advancing at City, whilst he had daily 2-3 hour round trips to a struggling Everton academy who're apparently in disarray.
This is why I loved Jesus & Zinchenko. Jesus gave it his all & was a model pro. Zin stuck with City, confident in his ability to contribute to the most successful period in our history.
Zin isn't a starter at LB or in Midfield, but he seems happy being second pick when called upon. Every club needs quality squad players, who accept they'll never be first pick, but will play 50%+ of games per season.
He's a brilliant example of how to make a career at a top club when surrounded by the talent we have.