Manchester City’s Jadon Sancho: An Exceptional Talent Showing Guardiola Traits

Often forgotten in the wake of Manchester City’s attempt to crack Europe’s elite is the success of their youth system in recent years. With Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero et al rightly hogging the limelight, events at the Academy Stadium sometimes go unheralded.

City have poured a fortune into their Etihad Campus facilities, building a stadium that seats 7,000 and hosts EDS matches (along with Manchester City Women games too). They’ve recruited some of the world’s finest young talents such as Brahim Diaz, Kelechi Iheanacho and Rodney Kongolo, and are now setting them loose in a variety of competitions.

But perhaps the crown jewel of City’s youth setup is not an exotic import from Spain or Nigeria; it’s a 16-year-old by the name of Jadon Sancho, who was purchased for a nominal fee from Watford in 2015. He was sourced much closer to home and settled quickly, and now, 19 months later, he’s excelling at Under-19 level despite playing against peers several years his senior.

Those who follow the EDS side closely are starting to get excited about him. A year ago the attention was all on Diaz, whose ball-killing skills and close control are sumptuous, but now it has been shifted to Sancho, who is also impressing with every opportunity at England youth level. Given he’s a domestic product, it’s natural the focus will shift; Sancho and Diaz both play together for City, but the raving is only being done about one of them.

Stretching the pitch: a key Guardiola trait

It’s crucial for any young City player performing at any level to show Guardiola traits. The club are trying to streamline the path from youth to senior sides by instigating the same style of football throughout, and that makes it easier for the manager to see who can cut it.

One of the main tasks a Guardiola winger must carry out is to stretch the pitch horizontally—and you do this by staying touchline wide. This is the reason Jesus Navas is still a Citizen, becasuse despite the obvious flaws in his game, he brings natural width to the pitch. The same argument can be used to …

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