Defender learns trade against the best there is - Haaland

CITY have a decent record of producing excellent defenders in their academy but very few have made it into the first team.

- By SIMON BAJKOWSKI

From the days of Kieran Trippier and Ben Mee to Jeremie Frimpong and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, there have been excellent careers - just not necessarily at the Etihad.

Rico Lewis is one that has bucked the trend and more are hoping to follow him in. This season, Pep Guardiola has given debuts to Kaden Braithwaite and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey in the League Cup.

Simpson-Pusey then started games in the Champions League and Premier League for City amid an injury crisis for centre-backs but hasn’t seen much action since. Max Alleyne and goalkeepers Spike Brits and Max Hudson have also been involved in squads.

An FA Cup tie against Championship opposition might normally be seen as a chance for the young academy defenders to play, but instead Guardiola turned to the 19-year-old centre-back that the club bought for £27.5m in January as he rested the 20-year-old centre-back that the club bought for £33m in January.

Even if you progress all the way through City’s academy and even with three senior centre-backs injured, there are no guarantees of making the first team when the club can essentially buy anybody they want.