Who should replace Riyad Mahrez?

[city warrior]

I am sure this comment will bring back some backlash, but I really doubt Palmer, McAtee will ever be important City players.

When you want to give a statement like that you have to go look on other elite clubs and which youngsters are important players for their teams, because we don't have rose-tainted glasses in those cases. Let's do it then:

Bayern: Kroos, Mussiala, Muller, Kimmich. All of them starters for both Bayern and Germany before they were 20.

Barca: Busquets, Araujo, Pedri, Gavi. Busquets and Araujo starters fro Barca and their national teams when they were 20. Gavi and Pedri starters for Spain and Barca by the time they were 18.

Madrid: Vinicius, Rodrygo (not sure they count though), Carvajal and Asensio. Vinicius and Rodrygo very important players for RM and Brazil by the time they were 20. Carvajal and Asensio both played 25+ matches when they were 20 and were already being called by Spain on several occasions.

Chelsea: Reece James, Mount. Starters for Chelsea and being called by England by the time they were 19-20.

United: Rashford. Starter for United and England by the time he was 19.

Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold. Same as Rashford.

The only really big player (that I can recall right now) who was part of the academy of an elite club that wasn't elite before they were 20 and still managed to be elite eventually was Casemiro (his breakthrough season was at 22 and then he came back to Madrid to be a starter)

 

[Gaz (FMwkdsoul)]

I am sure this comment will bring back some backlash, but I really doubt Palmer, McAtee will ever be important City players.

When you want to give a statement like that you have to go look on other elite clubs and which youngsters are important players for their teams, because we don't have rose-tainted glasses in those cases. Let's do it then:

Bayern: Kroos, Mussiala, Muller, Kimmich. All of them starters for both Bayern and Germany before they were 20.

Barca: Busquets, Araujo, Pedri, Gavi. Busquets and Araujo starters fro Barca and their national teams when they were 20. Gavi and Pedri starters for Spain and Barca by the time they were 18.

Madrid: Vinicius, Rodrygo (not sure they count though), Carvajal and Asensio. Vinicius and Rodrygo very important players for RM and Brazil by the time they were 20. Carvajal and Asensio both played 25+ matches when they were 20 and were already being called by Spain on several occasions.

Chelsea: Reece James, Mount. Starters for Chelsea and being called by England by the time they were 19-20.

United: Rashford. Starter for United and England by the time he was 19.

Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold. Same as Rashford.

The only really big player (that I can recall right now) who was part of the academy of an elite club that wasn't elite before they were 20 and still managed to be elite eventually was Casemiro (his breakthrough season was at 22 and then he came back to Madrid to be a starter)

Kane is prob the first name i can think off. 21/22 before he made england and starter for spurs. Sure there are more, players develop at different ages.

 

[blueparrot]

I am sure this comment will bring back some backlash, but I really doubt Palmer, McAtee will ever be important City players.

When you want to give a statement like that you have to go look on other elite clubs and which youngsters are important players for their teams, because we don't have rose-tainted glasses in those cases. Let's do it then:

Bayern: Kroos, Mussiala, Muller, Kimmich. All of them starters for both Bayern and Germany before they were 20.

Barca: Busquets, Araujo, Pedri, Gavi. Busquets and Araujo starters fro Barca and their national teams when they were 20. Gavi and Pedri starters for Spain and Barca by the time they were 18.

Madrid: Vinicius, Rodrygo (not sure they count though), Carvajal and Asensio. Vinicius and Rodrygo very important players for RM and Brazil by the time they were 20. Carvajal and Asensio both played 25+ matches when they were 20 and were already being called by Spain on several occasions.

Chelsea: Reece James, Mount. Starters for Chelsea and being called by England by the time they were 19-20.

United: Rashford. Starter for United and England by the time he was 19.

Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold. Same as Rashford.

The only really big player (that I can recall right now) who was part of the academy of an elite club that wasn't elite before they were 20 and still managed to be elite eventually was Casemiro (his breakthrough season was at 22 and then he came back to Madrid to be a starter)

Kane, probably others around the world.Not sure about Palmer or McAtee but age doesn’t rule them out.

 

[city warrior]

Kane, probably others around the world.Not sure about Palmer or McAtee but age doesn’t rule them out.

True, but even Kane by the age of 21 was a starter and scoring +20 goals in a season. I would love to be proven wrong, but history is not on their part.

It's standard for players like Mahrez or Kante who were not in an elite team in their teens to need more time to develop, but for elite academy, if you haven't made it by 19-21, more often than not you are never gonna be an important part of the team.

 

[Gaz (FMwkdsoul)]

True, but even Kane by the age of 21 was a starter and scoring +20 goals in a season. I would love to be proven wrong, but history is not on their part.

It's standard for players like Mahrez or Kante who were not in an elite team in their teens to need more time to develop, but for elite academy, if you haven't made it by 19-21, more often than not you are never gonna be an important part of the team.

and at 20 he scored 4 and wasnt even in the side.

 

[city warrior]

and at 20 he scored 4 and wasnt even in the side.

True, like I said, more often than not you either become elite before you are 20 (as an academy player), or you never become part of the first team. I never said they will never become important players for us, just that history is not on their part, and that there are not a lot of players who help their case (I even gave Casemiro as another example, although both he and Kane became important at 21, which is both McAtee's and Palmer's age).

 

[Tevez City]

This is an easy one. Randall Kolo Muani. We can make him the inverse pnext Thiery Henry. A striker with blistering pace and close area control who should be a winger.

How about this lad ? he combines skills & hardwork

Takefusa Kubo - Summary

Takefusa Kubo statistics – 23 years_old Real Sociedad Attacking Midfielder (Centre, Left, Right) / Forward. Check out his latest detailed stats including goals, assists, strengths & weaknesses and match ratings.

www.whoscored.com

 

[Dax777]

How about this lad ? he combines skills & hardwork

Takefusa Kubo - Summary

Takefusa Kubo statistics – 23 years_old Real Sociedad Attacking Midfielder (Centre, Left, Right) / Forward. Check out his latest detailed stats including goals, assists, strengths & weaknesses and match ratings.

www.whoscored.com

I'd rather have the guy that keeps passing him the ball :)

 

[JewelZee]

I thought Dembele from Barca looked decent at the world cup but he might not be consistent enough.

Always injured...

 

[JewelZee]

This is an easy one. Randall Kolo Muani. We can make him the inverse next Thiery Henry. A striker with blistering pace and close area control who should be a winger.

In a heartbeat...apparently they'd want enormous money...