Manchester City set for Academy hierarchy ‘rebuild’ after Chelsea, Southampton, and Newcastle exits

Following exits to Premier League rivals over the last 12 months, Manchester City are set for a ‘rebuild’ of their Academy hierarchy, as per a new report.

The City Football Academy has played a significant role in the success of the football club as an overall organisation both on and off the pitch in recent years, most recently offering talented young stars to Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad.

18 year-old Rico Lewis has been a primary example of that offering, with the England youth international having firmly cemented his place as a first-team regular this season, and providing firm competition for more senior talents in Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker.

In previous seasons, Pep Guardiola has also utilised the likes of Cole Palmer while Phil Foden has been the best example of Manchester City’s Academy processes coming to fruition, right from developmental phases to first-team offerings.

However now, there are clear indications that for the first time since the City Football Academy training base was opened adjacent to the Etihad Stadium in east Manchester, major changes are set to be made regarding the youth set-up.

That is according to the information of Jack Gaughan at the Mail, who reports this week that Manchester City are undergoing a ‘major rebuild’ of their academy’s hierarchy following a string of significant exits over the past 12 months.

It was confirmed towards the back end of January by Manchester City that their Academy Director, Jason Wilcox was to take on a new role at Southampton following the conclusion of the ongoing season.

Furthermore, it was reported this week that City’s Head of UK Scouting Stewart Thompson had agreed a deal with Chelsea, bringing an end to an almost 13 year-stay at the Etihad Stadium.

The Mail highlight that Thompson was ‘instrumental’ in Manchester City securing the likes of Jadon Sancho, Samuel Edozie and Liam Delap, while he is also credited with pushing through the signings of left-back Tom Galvez and highly-rated centre-half Max Alleyne.

Manchester City’s National Youth Scout Manager Paul McLaren is set to complete a switch to Newcastle United, while their former Head of Academy Recruitment Joe Shields left the Club for Southampton last year before joining Chelsea just weeks later for a new role.

But how do Manchester City aim to re-format their Academy hierarchy given the number of high-profile changes?

According to Jack Gaughan’s report, Sam Fagbemi has assumed Joe Shields’ position at Manchester City as Head of Recruitment, while Scouting Manager Alan Watson will now work with Fagbemi in a more senior capacity.

While it is further stated that replacing Jason Wilcox is the biggest task on Manchester City’s hands when it comes to the Academy structure, it has been revealed that the current Head of Coaching Steve Torpey is interested in the role.

Back on the pitch and Manchester City’s Academy made another step forward towards on-field success on Tuesday night, as the under-18s squad booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup courtesy of goals from Will Dickson and Justin Oboavwoduo.

That result comes just days after the more senior age group – managed by Brian Barry-Murphy – endured a crushing exit from the UEFA Youth League, falling to defeat in Croatia against Hadjuk Split.