O'Reilly's rise to take next step with England debut

WHEN he was eight, Nico O'Reilly had a decision to make. After catching the eye of scouts from all of the North West's biggest clubs while playing for Moston Tigers and Failsworth Dynamoes, he had whittled it down to a list of two.

- By TYRONE MARSHALL

Nico O'Reilly training with England

Casting aside Liverpool and Everton's interest, O'Reilly was now making a decision between Manchester City and Manchester United. He had trained with all four clubs, but this was time to finally commit. He had begun playing aged three or four and would play for as many grassroots clubs as he could, but when he got to Under-8s and U9s, the Premier League competition for him was fierce.

“I chose City because the training was a lot better," he explained to the City podcast recently, and it’s a decision that has worked out for both O'Reilly and his boyhood club.

The 20-year-old is from a family of split allegiances in Manchester, but his mum and sister were Blues, and so is he. He is undoubtedly City's breakout star of 2025.

At the turn of the year, his first-team experience amounted to a debut in the Community Shield at Wembley, two Carabao Cup starts, and nine minutes off the bench in a rout against Sparta Prague.