During his first weeks in the job at Manchester City, Enzo Maresca revealed three academy kids had impressed him sufficiently to earn a permanent residence in first-team training this season.
Ryan McAidoo, Kaden Braithwaite and Floyd Samba were the trio who stood out more than the rest on the pre-season tour of Asia, with Maresca’s staff devising plans to divide the players’ time between the senior group and getting minutes for the Under 21s.
Both McAidoo and Braithwaite have already featured in the Premier League, with Samba on the hunt for a senior debut when City face Norwich City in the Carabao Cup tonight.
‘When we started pre-season we had many young players, and then at the end we decided to keep these three because we think they can improve training with us and then they can get some minutes,’ Maresca said.
Daily Mail Sport looks at the journey all three have taken so far at the Etihad Stadium.
RYAN McAIDOO
Age: 18, Position: Right winger
Maresca was blown away by McAidoo’s ability one-on-one during his first few sessions in Asia, with the winger stealing the show in a friendly against Inter.
A shoulder injury curtailed the start of his season but the 18-year-old is set for minutes having come off the bench in the Premier League against Crystal Palace and Coventry City.
Ryan McAidoo of Manchester City in action against Coventry City this season. The 18-year-old right winger is a wonderful dribbler and superb in one-on-one situations
McAidoo, who joined City from Chelsea two years ago, is considered the jewel of those breaking through at the Etihad
Considered the jewel of those breaking through at City, McAidoo joined from Chelsea two years ago – and scored on his senior debut in January, a 10-1 win over Exeter City in the FA Cup.
He was the first transfer between City and Chelsea at academy level since an informal pact between former director Jason Wilcox and his counterpart Neil Bath down at Cobham, struck so neither club would target the other’s teenage talents.
McAidoo’s journey at City has so far been stable, scoring 10 goals in 19 Under-18 league games in his opening year. Asked by Daily Mail Sport if the year had surprised him, he said: ‘No, not really. I’d planned it to go well but not this well.’
So there is a quiet confidence about a youngster whose progress England’s Under 21s are tracking and who has benefited from individual one-to-one coaching at club level.
His first training session with Pep Guardiola came at 16. Coaches were keen to work on his decision-making during the private work away from the group. They worked on timing when to cross rather than relying on dribbling past markers – even if McAidoo is devastating at that, still the clear elite facet of his game.
His coach, Oliver Reiss, even set targets of how many crosses to attempt in certain games as City attempted to challenge somebody who could find matches too easy.
McAidoo scored a 19-minute hat-trick off the bench in the UEFA Youth League against Feyenoord as a central striker while barely having completed his GCSEs and then stepped up to the higher age group last year, combining that with more consistent first-team training call-ups.
Notably the number of assists went up, which indicates McAidoo has taken on board the advice around decisions in the box. Sources say the next part to target is his movement and knowing when to attack the back post.
‘One of the surprises has been Ryan McAidoo, which nobody expected,’ Maresca said recently. ‘He was very good. I really like players who are aggressive in wide areas.
‘For him the best thing is to learn. Try to be intelligent, try to learn from Antoine (Semenyo) and Jeremy (Doku). When I say try to learn, it’s not in terms of how to dribble – it’s about working hard because it can be difficult with young players, they can stop working because they feel they are ready when they are not.’
Enzo Maresca is full of praise for McAidoo. ‘I really like players who are aggressive in wide areas,’ the manager said recently of the 18-year-old
McAidoo in action on his senior debut in January, a 10-1 win over Exeter City in the FA Cup in which he scored
KADEN BRAITHWAITE
Age: 18, Position: Central defender
Captain of the FA Youth Cup-winning team last season, Braithwaite officially joined City at the age of eight and is in a long line of academy products who have gone right through the ranks.
Braithwaite was part of the backline that kept JJ Gabriel quiet in that final against Manchester United in May and had already made his first-team bow by that point.
It was in the Carabao Cup third round two years ago when Braithwaite became the third-youngest player in the club’s history, starting the 2-1 victory over Watford. Only Glyn Pardoe and Paul Simpson made debuts younger than the then-16-year-old.
Interestingly, there were staff at the time who felt that Stephen Mfuni – now on loan at Coventry City for the season – was ahead of Braithwaite in the pecking order. The pair are the same age, born four days apart in February 2008, but Braithwaite’s first session with Guardiola’s squad two days out from that tie convinced the Catalan to throw him in at the deep end.
As with McAidoo, Braithwaite is set individual targets by coaches. At 16, it was to win more duels.
The Bolton-born teenager then took up boxing in a bid to toughen up – claiming that he had previously been too nice – and has caught the eye of Maresca with his composure and additional strength, making his Premier League debut against Palace last month.
Kaden Braithwaite was captain of the FA Youth Cup-winning Manchester City team last season and part of the backline that kept Manchester United’s JJ Gabriel quiet
In the Carabao Cup third round two years ago, Braithwaite became the third-youngest player in Manchester City’s history, starting the 2-1 victory over Watford
FLOYD SAMBA
Age: 17, Position: Central midfielder
Scorer of a sublime 25-yard curling free-kick in the FA Youth Cup final last season and has an eye for goal when breaking into the box from midfield.
He has netted a goal a game in the league for the Under 21s and Under 18s over the past year and at 6ft, already looks a commanding presence. In all, he contributed 24 goals and 10 assists in 38 appearances last season.
Samba’s brother Tyrone (18) regularly plays in the same team, while their younger brother Emerson is also a promising central defender within City’s academy.
Floyd Samba has been in Manchester City’s youth set-up throughout his childhood and has consistently excelled through the age groups
Samba scored a sublime free-kick in last season’s FA Youth Cup final against Manchester United
The surname might feel familiar, with Samba the son of former Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers defender Chris.
Like Braithwaite, Samba has also been in City’s youth set-up throughout his childhood. Long-serving scout Mike Hayes spotted him at the Wilmslow Football Academy, a place specialising in summer soccer camps, and he has since consistently excelled through the age groups.
Fast forward to today, and Samba has taken on a surprising mentor within the first-team building.
Despite not yet mastering English and coming across as almost painfully shy, Uzbek Abdukodir Khusanov has been the one (alongside Gianluigi Donnarumma) who is helping Samba settle.