First team in 5 years

[g180aj]

i think he already is

Put the crack pipe down just a minute,

Firstly they aren't even the same type of player, sterling would be Barker's competition as they both play wide left( and yes I know they can play Central or right but they are best on the left).
Secondly not only is Rony our youngest ever scorer but he also has a man of the match in a cup semi final for the first team and was the most influential player for Lille out on loan, barker has yet to prove anything in the first team!
If barker was already a better player he would be in our first team next season not Rony.

 

[g180aj]

The possibilities are endless we could have sterling, De Bruyne, Rony, Barker, Roberts and Garcia all for the 3 positions behind iheanacho, Unal, fapala and for some reason the 1 I think most likely to be a star Ambrose.

 

[Hobbie]

How the fuck will unal still be 18 in 5 years!

I edited it, if only we could tap that fountain of youth

 

[PragueBlue]

I think it is highly optimistic (as well as highly unlikely) to think that 4/5 or more of our EDS squad will make it in our best 11 at the level we will most likely be at in 5 years. Having one or 2 would be an excellent achievement with the others carving out a decent career elsewhere.

 

[celf]

celina and tosin adebayio(sorry spelling) will make the grade look outstanding

 

[g180aj]

Barker is two possibly three years his junior and is light years ahead of where Lopes was at the same age
Barker will be the better player imo in five years time, which is what the OP asked not now, that doesn't mean I'm on drugs, it means i have a different opinion to you

You may want to read back the question, which was weather Barker will be better than Rony to which you replied I think he already is.
I know and completely understand the concept of this thread as a hypothetical scenario.

 

[celf]

lopes is ahead of barker atm, good loan deal for him in lille,barker is still developing as he showed at the end of last season when his form dipped.

not unusual for a 18 year old.

 

[NorCalBlue]

I think it is highly optimistic (as well as highly unlikely) to think that 4/5 or more of our EDS squad will make it in our best 11 at the level we will most likely be at in 5 years. Having one or 2 would be an excellent achievement with the others carving out a decent career elsewhere.

Yes, but the Sheikh will be off in the next year or two (something about being bored of winning stuff), after which we'll slump into the lower half of the Prem, followed by relegation to the Championship in 5 years time. So all those EDS players seems pretty realistic to me. Shame we couldn't shift Pogba, De Bruyne, or Sterling before going down though - their salaries are gonna kill us once the parachute payments stop.

 

[Hobbie]

I think it is highly optimistic (as well as highly unlikely) to think that 4/5 or more of our EDS squad will make it in our best 11 at the level we will most likely be at in 5 years. Having one or 2 would be an excellent achievement with the others carving out a decent career elsewhere.

I agree that it's highly optimistic that they'll all develop to be starting XI players on a Champions League caliber team, but it's mid-summer and there's not much more to do than speculate, and it's nice to speculate with a holistic approach... hence picking 5/6 homegrown/academy players for a starting XI five years from now. However I do believe it's highly likely Iheanacho and Denayer develop into players in City's best starting XI in five years.

I also think that player development is continually being refined as an art/science and that the EDS and our new state-of-the-art academy puts City in a position where we'll have; the best youth academy, the best accommodations for families, better coaches, prospects, and scouts will be attracted to that environment. Five years ago who were City's best academy players, Dennis Suarez? Karim Rekik? I think today our best is better than it was then and that we could argue the list is a lot deeper than just two.

 

[KCblue]

Our youth ranks are fucking stacked.