Academy review of 2024/25 | OneFootball

City's Elite Development Squad and Under-18s have seen another season come and go with fresh faces developing in the most competitive of circumstances and were rewarded with silverware to complete an intense campaign.

League success for Ben Wilkinson's EDS and Oliver Reiss' Under-18s were just a small aspect in another successful year that has seen our budding young talent flourish.

Nico O'Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Divin Mubama and Kaden Braithwaite all also made their senior debuts for Pep Guardiola with the latter becoming the third youngest to feature for the Blues in the Club's history.

Both teams also set various new records along their journeys. Our Under-18s set a new record for the successive number of league wins (21) and a new league points tally (65).

And our EDS became the first team to win the PL2 title for a fourth time in the competition's history.

To round off another incredible campaign, we take a look at 2024/25 for both teams...

ELITE DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

After moving up to become the Lead Coach of the EDS, Ben Wilkinson's debut season with the squad has been nothing short of fantastic.

After having worked with a large majority of the squad in the Under-18s the two seasons prior, a real sense of understanding and togetherness shone through from the first day of the season.

Working with his assistant Craig Mudd, Wilkinson led the team to two Premier League 2 title wins - the league phase and play-off final - by showcasing possession-based, quick, fluid football.

First City remained focused on the 20 league phase games ahead, looking to better our results from last season which saw us place 23rd.

After falling to a defeat in the opening game of 2024/25, City went on a 10-game winning run, which would eventually end with 15 triumphs, two draws and three defeats as our young boys in blue topped the table with 47 points.

A record number of wins and points in the new format of the PL2, City also scored an impressive 61 goals and conceded just 23 to boast a goal difference of 38, another new record for the competition.

Also helping another young EDS side in the fight for the title was the experience of playing senior football in the EFL Trophy and getting the opportunity to once again go toe-to-toe with Europe's other leading academies in the UEFA Youth League.

A penalty shootout win over Grimsby and defeats to Chesterfield and Lincoln were not enough to see us progress to the knockout stage of the EFL Trophy, but City enjoyed a much better success rate in Europe.

After an opening defeat to Inter Milan, back-to-back wins over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague saw City find our feat.

A loss at Sporting CP (2-0), win over Feyenoord (6-1) and draw with Juventus (1-1) confirmed our place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Youth League.

City overcame FC Midtjylland on penalties before a 2-1 over Hoffenheim saw us progress to the quarter-final of the competition for the first time since 2017/18. A late 1-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar saw the curtain fall on our European journey in April.

Our attention now completely on the PL2, City topped the table and were ready for the play-offs.

City showed tenacity and maturity to pull off extra-time wins over Liverpool and Arsenal before a 2-0 win over Manchester United in the semi-final.

WATCH: Highlights | City EDS 2-0 Man Utd

In the final, our last game of the season, City welcomed Southampton to the Joie Stadium in May.

Goals from Divin Mubama - who topped the PL2 goalscoring chart with 16 in 13 appearances - and Ashton Muir confirmed a second piece of silverware for the EDS to top a phenomenal campaign.

En route to silverware, a staggering 39 players from the Under-18s, EDS and first-team took to the pitch in the PL2 to help in individual development, returning from injury and looking to make their mark in the competition.

And Academy Director Thomas Kruecken and City boss Pep Guardiola were quick to give their congratulations to the team.

Krucken said: "To become Premier League 2 champions is a magnificent achievement for Ben [Wilkinson], the players, the staff and everyone connected to the Academy,” said Kruecken.

“Everyone has shown their quality day in, day out both in helping us to win the PL2 league phase and then successfully coming through the play-off rounds.

“Our Under-21s have also served as the benchmark for the style of play we want all our age groups to adopt here at the Academy.

“But the achievement would not have been possible without the hard work of every single person who strives to help make us better as an Academy."

And Guardiola added: "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the players along with Ben and his staff on what is a wonderful achievement,” said the City manager.

“To win the Premier League title is such a tough thing to achieve and a matter of huge pride for us all at the Club.

“The manner of their victory showed how talented our young players are and also proved that they play with courage and personality too.

“We see how strong the Academy is every single day, and the quality is there every single time the young players train with us.

“I hope they enjoy this achievement because it is a reward for everyone’s hard work and commitment across the season.”

WATCH: Watch: City EDS lift the Premier League 2 trophy!

UNDER-18s

After stepping into the role of Under-18s Lead Coach, Oliver Reiss has shown his unwavering passion for guiding future stars.

His energy and passion, alongside the added positivity of assistant coach Kolo Toure, our young Under-18s side have flourished throughout the season.

After a draw and defeat in the opening weeks of the 2024/25 campaign, City went on to record a phenomenal 21-game winning run and would only drop points in the final game of the season when we drew with Newcastle.

In that, results such as our 7-0 win over Middlesbrough, 7-1 triumph over Newcastle, including Divine Mukasa's halfway line strike, a 4-0 win at Manchester United and our dramatic 4-3 title-winning match against Derby County made for an entertaining season.

During that run, City would also book a place in the FA Youth Cup final for a second successive season to take our winning run to 26.

In those games, our young boys in blue scored an incredible 109 goals and conceded just 22.

At the other end of the pitch, 16 of the 26 were clean sheets with City showcasing composure, teamwork and confident football all over the pitch.

WATCH: Extended highlights: City U18s 4-3 Derby

In his first full season with the Under-18s, Reigan Heskey led the goal scoring tally for City with 18 in 19 appearances. Close behind was Mukasa who scored 15 in 20 games and also assisted an eye-catching 15 for 30 goal involvements in his second campaign in the Under-18 Premier League North.

Just as important as scoring and teeing up goals, stopping them helps win games. Max Hudson (eight) and Oliver Whatmuff (five)

In the final few weeks of the season, City prepared for two finals, the FA Youth Cup and Under-18 Premier League National final.

In both, we travelled to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa, the Under-18 Premier League South title winners.

City fell to defeat in both finals but will have undoubtedly learnt a lot individually and as a team, with Reiss reiterating one of his key points he's referenced all campaign, that the difficult games and losses can often shape a player more than winning every week.

“From our point of view, I was proud of the lads before the game and even more afterwards. To reach the final again was a big success," said Reiss after the FA Youth Cup final defeat.

“It was a tough game – some phases we were OK but it was not the game we were used to. And with the special atmosphere playing in front of 25,000 fans - to deal with this is very tough.

“All in all, I’m not happy of course [to lose] – but reaching this final and having the opportunity to play in a game like this [will only be] positive for their development.”

In total, 28 players featured for the squad, with some now ready for the step-up to the EDS squad on a permanent basis and other raring to go for another competitive Under-18s campaign.