Manchester City may not have had the best of seasons, but there have been a fair few positives for the Etihad Stadium side this term.
Manchester City are on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League and are the favourites to win the FA Cup this term.
In addition, a number of City academy talents have made their mark in the first-team squad this term.
Rico Lewis has once again featured plentifully, while the likes of James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly have made their breakthroughs.
England coach Ashley Cole has now delivered his verdict on O’Reilly with regards to how his efforts for City will impact on his pathway at international level.
Ashley Cole impressed with Manchester City talent Nico O’Reilly
Cole, speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, spoke of how O’Reilly has slotted in “seamlessly” in the City team and is very much trusted by Pep Guardiola.
Cole said: “Yeah. The other one was, he’s probably more breaking through now at Manchester City, is it Nico O’Reilly?
I know he’s obviously a younger one, but he’s breaking through in a moment where probably Man City had been a little bit shaky, he’s come on and he’s made an impact in games.
When asked how much he had seen of O’Reilly, Cole said: “Yeah, a lot.
“But again, the pathway with England is quite strong and good, and we’re looking at multiple players all through the age groups to go ‘who’s next and when are they going to feature for us?’
“And yeah, similar to a Rico where again seamlessly steps into the team and plays with a great maturity, you can trust them.
“Ultimately, Pep trusts him to play week in week out, not week in week out, but gives him the opportunity to play and a platform to play.
“And then now he’s – not cementing his place, of course not, but Pep certainly trusts him and plays him at crucial parts of the game.”
What the future could hold for Nico O’Reilly
O’Reilly is a player with bags of potential who looks like he could become a star for City.
With Man City set to make big changes in the summer, many fans have been tipping O’Reilly to become a key player in years to come.
He’s exactly the type of player that Pep needs to start thinking about building his future City XI around.
Indeed, O’Reilly may quickly become Guardiola’s starting left-back for the 2025/26 season, the way things are going.
