Teenage Manchester City starlet called-up to Gareth Southgate’s senior England training session

Manchester City have seen one of their Academy’s rising starlets called-up to one of Gareth Southgate’s senior England international training session this week.

Yorkshire-born prospect Kian Noble was the lucky youngster to receive the promotion this week, with Manchester City themselves describing the teenager as being a player with a ‘leading presence’ within their group, and a ‘strong figure’ in their rearguard.

Manchester City describe Noble as being a talent ‘confident when carrying the ball out from the back’, paired with an ‘excellent range of passing’ that saw him play a crucial role in his debut season with the club’s under-18 unit.

Now it appears as though those traits have been noted by coaching staff within the England international set-up this week, with officials making the decision to grant him a golden opportunity to work alongside some of the finest talents in the senior game.

As per various reports, Manchester City Academy’s highly-rated defender Kian Noble received a call-up to accompany the senior England squad in training at St George’s Park on Wednesday, standing alongside the likes of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Saka.

BBC Sport have highlighted that the 16-year-old defender was selected to partake in the senior squad’s training session as he was suspended for the national team’s under-17 fixture on Wednesday, meaning he could not feature in the contest in any capacity.

At the City Football Academy, Noble has had numerous opportunities to work alongside Manchester City’s first-team talents, and recently opened up on what that is like during an interview with the Manchester Evening News.

“It gives you more motivation, wanting to be there,” Noble said. “You see the lads like Rico (Lewis), Phil (Foden), Cole (Palmer) who have made the step over, it makes you want to do well and have more.

“When you train with them, you see the standard that you’ve got to reach and strive to. It’s the little nuances that the first team pros know about. They know what to do, not ‘cheats’, but nuances you can bring into your game.”

Noble continued, “The defensive concepts that they tell you and show you when you’re over there, it’s vital for your development. They’re all really good, all top professionals and top lads. They’re so professional. The Yorkshire lads will speak to me.

“They look out for you, Walker’s been brilliant, giving you information like what side to be on, what direction to face and defensive principles. All the nuances he knows, he’s been really open and helped me out. They ask you how the games have been, it shows the club culture and how they’re doing so well.”