As Manchester City continue their pre-season preparations in the United States, a cast of young stars are starting to impress fans and pundits alike.
Out of the 26 players who travelled from Manchester to Houston, ten of them are from City’s esteemed academy.
Some of the players may be familiar to the City faithful, such as Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Luke Mbete and James McAtee, who all received minutes with the first team last season.
City and Belgium captain, Kevin De Bruyne has commented on the academy stars during a post-match interview, after Thursday's 2-1 victory over Club América.
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“They’re doing really well, they’ve been with us for some years now, so we know the quality that we’re going to get,” explained the midfielder.
“The pre-season is good for them to get some game time, understand how we play as a team, and they’re doing really well.”
Several of the young players made an appearance against Club América on Thursday, including Delap, McAtee, Mbete, Palmer, Kayky, Rico Lewis, and Josh Wilson-Esbrand.
One youngster who the Belgian also commented on was Julian Alvarez, who made his City debut on Thursday after leaving the Argentine Primera Division side, River Plate earlier in the window for a reported fee of £14 million.
Against Club América, Alvarez helped create two scoring opportunities; including one that led to a lightening fast City counter-attack.
De Bruyne was full of praise for the young strikers ability, with a keen focus on his first touch.
“[Alvarez’s first touch] it looks really good," De Bruyne continued.
"I think a lot of people have been impressed with him because you see clips on the internet, but it’s very different playing."
“He started sharp and played really well today and I think he could be a big player for us.”
One star who has yet to play for City is Erling Haaland, who may make his debut against Bayern Munich on Sunday.
City have travelled to Lambeau Field in preparation for the game, with 90 minutes of action the last chance Guardiola gets to assess his squad ahead of the annual Community Shield curtain raiser.
They take on FA Cup winners Liverpool, who will be hoping to - once again - battle with City for the Premier League title this season.
City face West Ham United on the opening day, with Jurgen Klopp's men also travelling to face newly-promoted Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Kick-off on Sunday is scheduled for midnight, with everyone excited by the potential debut of Haaland, who teased his appearance on Twitter earlier this week.
Topics: Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez, Premier League
Declan Harris