How many times have we heard Pep, Txiki and Ferran lament over the years how ineffective the youth/EDS system in England is in preparing players for first team football, as all they play is other talented kids.
They often draw comparison to the Spanish system, in which youth teams compete in the leagues below La Liga against proper first teams - giving them a genuine footballing education in preparation for playing in the first team.
It seems with Southampton we’ve found a way around this problem - and long may it continue.
I’m very happy for us to sell all our most promising kids to them (with a buy back), allowing them to play PL football week in week out, and bringing the very best back to City in the future - rewarding Southampton for training them up in the process.
It’s a win-win situation!