Manchester City’s academy had a good season last time round and the youth setup is determined to keep doing well.
A month ago, it was reported that Man City were closing in on the signing of Kaylen Moss, a midfielder in Liverpool’s academy.
It has also been reported that Tottenham’s Dexter Oliver and Aston Villa’s Freddie Lawrie were also in the picture to move to City.
Now, one of those players has reportedly sealed a move to Manchester City, with Fabrizio Romano taking to X with a big development.
Freddie Lawrie joins Manchester City academy after passing medical
On Thursday, Romano reported that Freddie Lawrie has passed his medical with Manchester City and is now in their youth ranks.
‘U17 England captain joins Manchester City from Aston Villa on a long-term deal as part of busy window for Manchester City Academy,’ added Romano.
Lawrie has joined Man City in the wake of his scholarship terms with Villa coming to an end.
As per The Athletic, Villa were keen on keeping the youth star and even made him a strong offer to stay.
However, Lawrie has opted to move to City, who will now have to pay their fellow Premier League side compensation for the midfielder.
The 16-year-old is most commonly deployed in central midfield, but has also operated at centre-back for his national team.
How Manchester City’s academy fared last season
City’s Under-21s won the Premier League 2 title, the first team to do so for a fourth time in the competition’s history.
Meanwhile, the Under-18s won the U18 Premier League North title, setting a number of records along the way.
Oliver Reiss’ side set a new record for the successive number of league wins (21) and a new league points tally (65).
In addition, academy graduates Nico O’Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Kaden Braithwaite, Jacob Wright and Divin Mubama all featured in various competitions for the first-team.
Academy director Thomas Kruecken is “especially” proud of O’Reilly for making his breakthrough in the first-team and making 21 outings last term.
