German prospect signs

CITY have completed the signing of teenage Schalke full-back Nils Zander.

The German youth international is yet to make his senior debut for the Bundesliga outfit but has shown enough in their junior ranks for City manager Mark Hughes to be convinced of his quality.

And, for all the star names Hughes continues to be linked with, the former Wales chief has made 16-year-old Zander his first capture of the summer.

>>MEN

Amidst the headlines linking us with all and sundry throughout the season, the club have quietly added some young European prospects, and the signing of Zander comes on the heels of Loris Karius and French youth player Jeremy Helan.

It wasn't too long ago I posted about the clubs seeming lack of scope in terms of scouting, but recent months definitely suggest a new approach.

Youth team through to the final

IM CASSELL'S FA Youth Cup holders made it three wins out of three in the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament to storm into Friday's semi-finals with a resounding 4-0 victory over spirited Canadians Toronto.

City danger men Robbie Mak and Alex Nimely claimed two goals each in a one-way second half after Toronto had created their best chances before the break only to find goalkeeper Joe Clegg in outstanding form.

The Boy Blues will now face either Sao Paulo or Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four after topping supergroup A with 11 goals and maximum points following earlier victories over AC Milan by 4-0 and Mexican side Tigres 3-2.

>>mcfc.co.uk

Youth team win again

JIM CASSELL'S City youngsters pulled off a stirring fightback from two goals down to beat Mexican side Tigres 3-2 in the prestigious Dallas Cup and leave the FA Youth Cup holders one point from qualifying for the next stage in Texas.

Goals from Alex Nimely, Greg Cunningham and Keiran Trippier turned the match around for the resolute Boy Blues after two defensive errors handed their opponents a 2-0 half-time lead just a day after beating AC Milan 4-0.

>>mcfc.co.uk - full report.

Youth team to feature in international tournament

CITY'S young stars will head out to the United States on Friday morning to record another major milestone for the club's world-renowned Academy in the wake of April's deserved FA Youth Cup triumph.

The Boy Blues have been invited to the prestigious Dallas Tournament in Texas on the strength of that Youth Cup victory over Chelsea and will kick off on Sunday against the cream of the Italian crop from AC Milan.

Jim Cassell's youngsters, who have never before played in what has become one of the world's top youth tournaments, will follow that Group A appetiser with games against Toronto and the leading Mexican club Tigres.

The potential opposition in the semi-finals is no less daunting. Group B is headed by Brazilian holders Sao Paulo and also incudes Eintracht Frankfurt, while Group C boasts River Plate of Argentina and Vancouver Whitecaps.

Academy manager Cassell said: "It's an honour for us to be invited to such a prestigious tournament. The age group is Under-19 but we'll take a younger squad to give them experience. It will help to educate the younger ones about playing against foreign opposition."

>>mcfc.co.uk

An Academy XI?

There has been plenty of discussion around our Academy and the youth players coming through in recent times, with Michael Johnson the latest to receive the plaudits following his winning goal against Villa on Sunday.

I came across an article on Setanta's site earlier today and profiled our top XI of youth players. The full article is here, but the XI they picked was as follows:

1: Mike Doyle
2: Peter Barnes
3: Shaun Wright-Phillips
4: Alan Oakes
5: Paul Lake
6: Neil Lennon
7: Neil Young
8: Micah Richards
9: Tommy Caton
10. Joe Corrigan
11: Sir Matt Busby

Discuss.

Praise for the academy

A quiet time at the moment given it is international week and the MEN is taking the time to focus on the work of the academy and its graduates with a series of articles this week (something the official site is also doing).

Looking at the list of players who have come through the academy to the first team illustrates just what a fantastic job Jim Cassell and his team have done over the years - with it showing no signs of letting up with more academy players on the fringe of the both the reserves and first team.

The work done cannot be underestimated and credit must be given to Joe Royle for backing the academy after relegation to Division 2, when it was thought academy funding may be one of the first things to be cut but funding was still found and we ae now seeing the fruits of that with the quality of players that have come through in the past five years or so.

Whilst the cost of the running the academy cannot be underestimated, it is also something that is 'paying its own way' gven the amount we have recouped by selling players who have not quite made the grade at the club, not to mention the £24 million received from the sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips.

It is good to see that Sven-Goran Eriksson (and Shinawatra) have talked up the academy and that nationally there has been a lot of focus and praise on the work done, and despite the money now being available following the takeover, it is something that all parties seem keen to continue to develop and we should see even more young players staking their claim for first team positions.

A look at the Academy

One of the big plusses of recent years has been the fantastic work Jim Cassell and his colleagues have been doing over at the Academy - not just in terms of the players who have come through and progressed to the first team, but also both in terms of those who have not quite made the grade but have brought in transfer fees when sold on, and of course the big profits made on the sales of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton (although Sam Allardyce's bleating would indicate he feels we should allow these players to move on for nothing).

The official City site does from time to time show some interesting features (although not the recent Q&A's), and one thing they are running at the moment is a focus on all twenty-one players who have come through Academy (in its current guise).

Although they are just two players in at the moment, once they have worked through the list it will surely illustrate just how succesful the Academy has been over the past ten years, and perhaps give an indication of what to expect in the future.

Under-18's win Spanish tournament

From mcfc.co.uk:

City's Under 18 side have rounded off the season in fine
style, winning the Javea tournament in Spain over the weekend.
The Academy
team demolished the host side CD Javea 5-0, with two goals coming from David
Ball and the rest coming from Adam Clayton, Ben Morris and Ryan
McGivern.
This comprehensive win saw City move into the final of the
round-robin competition where they faced Villareal, themselves renowned in Spain
for an excellent youth system. A solitary goal from Scott Kay was enough for
City to take the title for the secind year in a row, having beaten Valencia when
the competition was staged there this time last year.