“It was late September” – Manchester City executive pinpoints academy’s 2025 highlight | OneFootball

Manchester City academy director Thomas Kruecken has reflected upon a successful year for the City Football Academy in an interview with the club’s in-house media team.

For City, the past 12 months have offered a clear statement of intent – the academy is a functioning production line feeding directly into the first-team squad.

While much of the spotlight has rightly fallen on the rise of Nico O’Reilly, Kruecken is keen to stress that 2025 will be remembered just as much for the volume and significance of senior debuts handed out by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

In a new interview with the club’s official channels, the German outlined why the previous calendar year represents a landmark moment for the club’s development model, with a succession of academy graduates trusted on the biggest stages.

The roll call of debuts tells its own story. Divin Mubama set the tone early, scoring on his first senior start in an emphatic 8-0 FA Cup victory over Salford City in January 2025. It was a debut that encapsulated the confidence City placed in their young players – not merely minutes but responsibility.

That sense of continuity deepened with the return of academy graduate James Trafford from Burnley in the recent summer transfer window. Trafford, 23, earned his first senior City appearance in a 4-0 Premier League win away at Wolves in August. For a goalkeeper, a position rarely fast-tracked, it was a meaningful endorsement of his development.

The Carabao Cup then became a further showcase as Divine Mukasa, Jaden Heskey and Reigan Heskey all featured in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in September – before Charlie Gray completed the cohort with a substitute appearance in a City’s quarter-final triumph over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium in December.

For Kruecken, the significance goes beyond individual moments. “Yeah, what a proud moment for all of us to see that we have five (at the time of recording) more graduates to get their debut for the first-team,” City’s academy director said.

Kruecken was particularly struck by one snapshot earlier in the season – ten academy graduates named in a senior matchday squad against Huddersfield Town.

“I remember it was late September when, and this was one of the highlights of the season, that we have 10 graduates in the first-team squad against Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup. And it’s a clear indicator for me of the great organisation and collaboration we have with the first-team in the transition phase, making sure these players get the opportunity,” he added.

That word – transition – is central to City’s approach. Rather than viewing the Elite Development Squad (EDS) as a separate entity, it operates in constant proximity to Guardiola’s group. “We train everyday next to the first-team with our EDS,” Kruecken said.

“We have daily touch points around the coaching level. In the past it was Carlos Vicens; now it is Pep (Pepijn) Lijnders and Kolo Toure – who are very close to our coaching staff – and Jan (Moritz Lichte), who is our Head of Coaching.”

Those touch points are not superficial. The involvement of Lijnders and Toure alongside Lichte ensures alignment from session design to match demands. At a strategic level, Kruecken’s regular dialogue with director of football Hugo Viana reinforces that unity.

“I have bi-weekly meetings with Hugo Viana, talking about strategic improvements of the Academy and day-to-day touch points with him. He’s watching every single game in the EDS, every game in the U18s,” Kruecken said.

“The academy has a big task to develop players for the first team, for the five big European leagues, for the Championship, for the League One.”

It is a pragmatic acknowledgement of modern development pathways and one that explains why City are comfortable giving young players exposure early. Debuts are not rewards – they are part of an assessment process rooted in trust, preparation and clarity of role.

As Kruecken concluded, the momentum is unmistakable. “It’s a massive indicator that we are one and yeah, it is exciting moving forward,” he said.

For Manchester City, 2025 was not simply about winning matches. It has been about validating a system – one that turns promise into proof.