Manchester City are used to seeing some of their academy players train with the senior squad on certain occasions.
A big example of this came during the Manchester club’s previous preseason tour of America.
With City taking on sides such as Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea, numerous figures from the club’s academy were given the chance to play and show Pep Guardiola what they’re capable of.
Since then, the likes of Kaden Braithwaite and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey have featured in City’s first team here and there.
Months later, one of City’s young talents has now highlighted a particular moment from preseason that has stuck with him.
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Jaden Heskey reflects on ‘amazing’ preseason with Man City
When asked about his appearance in City’s preseason match against Barcelona back in July, Jaden Heskey gave this answer in a recent interview with Manchester World.
He said: “That was amazing, surreal. There were a lot of players I look up to – for us and them for Barcelona there was [Robert] Lewandowski playing and Thiago Alcantara was a coach for them.
“It was a crazy experience.
“He [Guardiola] didn’t say much before I came on. He just called me, I was sat on the bench and didn’t expect it. He told me to get ready and I was running up and down with my heart pounding.
“He called me over, told me to go on as striker and hold the play up.“
Heskey was also stunned by Erling Haaland in preseason
With 84 minutes on the clock against the Spanish side, Guardiola chose to put Heskey on to replace Jack Grealish for the final stretch of the match, which ended with City losing 4-1 in a penalty shootout after the 90 minutes ended with a 2-2 draw.
His appearance against Barcelona isn’t the only thing the youngster has reflected on in glowing terms, as Heskey hailed Erling Haaland for his finishing ability – which he got a close view of in training over the summer, saying this on the matter.
He said: Seeing [Erling] Haaland’s finishing in person every day, it was ridiculous. I learned a lot from all of them. Being around them the whole time, you see how professional they are, how they train every day.”
At the age of 18, the attacking-midfielder has appeared in 67 matches with City’s youth sides across all competitions, scoring 19 goals and delivering five assists in the process.
Having now shared how excited he was to feature against Barcelona for the Blues and get instructions from Guardiola, this highlights how eager he must be to break through into the first-team squad and become a regular figure for City.
Moving forward, if Heskey can continue to perform at a high level for City’s youth sides, there’s every chance he could become a more recognisable face in the first team at some point in the future.
