Who is Nico O’Reilly? Get to know the ‘phenomenal’ Man City starlet who has caught Pep Guardiola’s eye

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Nico O’Reilly has been the breakout star of Manchester City’s pre-season and could be set for a big season at the club.

With the bulk of his Manchester City squad still on holiday after their international exploits, Pep Guardiola has taken several of the club’s academy starlets on the pre-season tour of America.

There have been promising displays from James McAtee, Mahamadou Susoho and Micah Hamilton but Nico O’Reilly has been the one to really impress.

The midfield starlet scored in the 2-2 draw with Barcelona but has really caught the eye with some composed and elegant performances in an unfamiliar midfield position.

The manager has already spoken about O’Reilly in the same breath as Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb and there’s a growing possibility he could join them in the first team for the 2024/25 season.

But who is he? Here is everything you need to know about City’s latest exciting prospect.

• Who is Oscar Bobb? Step inside the life of the starlet playmaker set to take Man City by storm

How old is Nico O’Reilly?

Nico O’Reilly was born on March 21, 2005, in Manchester, England and as of July 2024, he is 19 years old.

Nico O’Reilly height

Nico O’Reilly stands at over 6’2″ (1.93m), according to Transfermarkt, making him incredibly tall for a midfielder.

Instagram and X/Twitter accounts

O’Reilly has an official Instagram account with 44.4k followers, a number that is sure to go up soon and you can find his account @niczz10.

He does not appear to have an X, formerly Twitter, account.

Praise for Nico O’Reilly

O’Reilly has impressed during City’s pre-season tour of the USA and earned praise from Guardiola after his performance against Barcelona.

“He can play with us,” the manager was quoted by journalist Sam Lee.

“Normally in the academy, all the players are [short] like Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb. Now, it’s nice to have [a tall youngster like] Nico [O’Reilly].”

“It’s the work of the academy, we are blessed.

Shaun Wright-Phillips also sang the youngster’s praises when speaking on the club’s official full-time show on YouTube.

He said: “But I think Nico O’Reilly, especially in the first half stood out massively. I think he, from the start of pre-season to where he is now, in game performance, I think he was phenomenal today.

“Everything he did seemed like it was what he wanted to do and it was going in the right direction and it was working for City.”

Is Nico O’Reilly good?

Guardiola certainly seems to rate O’Reilly highly with the brief time he has spent training with the first team.

The youngster first joined the seniors for the warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi in December 2022, so the manager has been eyeing his progress for a while.

O’Reilly has been making a name for himself in the club’s youth ranks, captaining the U18 side to title glory while registering 27 goal contributions in 2022/23 and scoring several amazing goals.

He already has a highlights reel to be proud of having scored a last-minute scorpion kick winner, a 40-yard lob against Manchester United and a goal of the season from distance in his young career.

What is Nico O’Reilly’s position?

O’Reilly has risen through the ranks as an attacking midfielder and certainly suits the position given how effective he has been in the final third.

However, Guardiola has been testing him deeper in midfield in the double pivot during pre-season, which could be where his future lies.

Nico O’Reilly stats

Man City stats

Man City U18 and U21 stats

England stats

Nico O’Reilly trophies and honours

Man City trophies

• x1 Community Shield – 2024
• 2x U18 Premier League – 2021/22, 2022/23
• 1x Premier League 2 – 2021/22

Individual honours

• City U18s Players’ Player of the Year – 2022/23