With City’s preseason set to kick off this Wednesday at the Allianz Arena in Munich, these are a few of the youngsters that could make a name for themselves during the busy preseason schedule.
1) Angelino
Angelino is a left footed, Spanish left back. The full back areas have been identified as the ones in need of a bit of a freshen up by most people, and Angelino provides a solution from within the club. Rather than spending a fortune on an unproved left back from somewhere in Europe, why not use what we already have?
The 19 year old has bags of pace as well as impressive technical ability, added to amazing attacking prowess. Angelino is very skilled on the ball and can provide the much needed delivery for our attacking stars such as, Sergio Aguero. Not only is he capable of attacking, defensively he is also very solid (which is something our recent left backs have been accused of lacking). Although only standing at 5ft 7inches, the Spaniard is not afraid to get stuck in and use his strength to brush people off the ball and stay strong in the tackle.
2) Kean Bryan
The England youth international is a defensive midfielder who has represented the club’s academy sides from U12s to the Elite Development Squad. The Mancunian has made himself an U21s regular after breaking into the team and will hope to make a serious claim for first team football next season. He models his playing style on Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard. His ability to defend well and break up the opposition’s attack is vital to the team and will add some strength and grit to a team that has looked lacklustre for the majority of last season. Not only this, but his ability to piece together attacking play and pick out the perfect pass makes him unique in the fact he can attack and defend, both very well.
3) Manu Garcia
The 18 year old threatened to break into the first team last season when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge, with appearances against Chelsea in the FA cup and a goal in the 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace in the League Cup. However he was never handed the perfect opportunity to impress, although Garcia will be a player that Guardiola will appreciate. The attacking midfielder is a class act who links seamless dribbling with pinpoint accurate passing. Reminding of a young David Silva, Garcia can play almost anywhere in the midfield. In addition to this, with him being only 18 years of age he still has plenty of time to learn from the best at City. Pep Guardiola will be excited by this prospect and it seems Silva has already took him under his wing and hopefully he can turn out to be a player of the same quality as his Spanish counterpart.
4) Aleix Garcia
Aleix is another holding midfielder who has recently been compared to a young Pirlo or Mendieta. The academy star made one appearance last season, against Chelsea in the FA Cup. On this occasion he impressed and really made a name for himself as the future of the MCFC midfield. His impressive defensive capabilities are what defenders crave in the player playing in front of them. However in addition to this, his long range passing which is exquisite, added to his ball carrying abilities make him a desirable talent in the youth ranks.
5) Jason Denayer
Recently described by his national team manager Marc Wilmots as having the ‘best profile to replace Vincent Kompany’, Denayer is seen as a natural successor to the club colossus. Wilmots also claimed he is ‘fast and allows the team to press and play’. Speed is something the City defence has been lacking over recent years, and with the more intense physical demands of the Premier League, the youngsters coming through need to evolve as well. It looks like Denayer has done this and seems the perfect fit to deal with pacy strikers as well as the strong forwards. Denayer’s ball playing capabilities also make him a perfect fit for a Pep Guardiola side. Able to play either centre back or right back, the young Belgian’s range of passing is very impressive for a defender. And based on recent Guardiola teams, the Spaniard wants his team to play football from the defence upwards (even including the goalkeeper). Denayer has been on loan for the past two seasons and I’m sure he will want to make an impression on the new boss during preseason, propelling him to potential first team football next year.