Manchester City is back in the FA Youth Cup final for the second year in a row and ready to keep their title after it in the 4-0 of Leeds 4-0 last season.
The four -fold winners are one of the most dominant academies in English and produce a series of English players and talents of world class for the first team of Pep Guardiola.
The will of Cole Palmer, Oscar Bobb, Morgan Rogers, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Daniel Sturridge played in this game for Manchester City before they are covered for their country, and it is a stage in which the great talents can announce themselves to the world.
So as a City set up to Aston Villa in the final of Monday in Villa Park, who are the six biggest stars to keep an eye on?
Our Manchester City expert Jack Gaughan chooses the gems from the praised setup to remember the names for the future.
Stephen Mfuni (back/left back, age: 17)
The youngest member of the pre-season tour last summer to the United States, training with people like Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland.
He only became 17 in February, but is already a fixture in Will Antwi's England Under 19S Squad. Very impressive in getting out with possession and is quickly developed during training sessions with the first Pep Guardiola team.
Although it seems small, the defender is strong in duels and he has impressed coaches with his reading of situations.
“I didn't expect that at my age I would go to America for other people – crazy,” Mfuni told Mail Sport.
“I'm always there now. It corresponds to their pace, it is so much faster there. If I take that in games, I am far ahead of everyone – two steps forward. Because you know what will happen, what will come. Everything is popping there. '
Divine Mukasa (Central Midfielder, 17)
Probably the star of the show for City's Under 18s this season. Sixteen goals and 15 assists in the competition campaign are ridiculous figures, as a result of which head coach Oliver Reiss describes the Londoner as 'brilliant', 'incredible' and 'incredible'.
It is difficult to argue with those descriptions at the end of a great campaign that also brought six assists in the youth cup, drive forward while staying lazy and possessing an eye for a final pass.
Signed by West Ham United in 2023, he became the lynchpin of the city teams and acted as a crucial part of their progression to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Youth League.
Mukasa tries Impish fines and scored a Panenka of the bar this year, but missed one without a run -up in a defeat by AZ Alkmaar.
Reigan Heskey (Wing player, 17)
Son of ex-England striker Emile and has an older brother, Jaden, also in the arrangement of the Stadsacademie.
Heskey probably has probably not earned the international recognition he deserves – only a first limit under 17 in September – and can be overlooked for Mukasa when compliments are handed out at club level.
But the 17-year-old, who had been in the club since he was eight, is dynamite around the box, with 36 targeted involvement in 37 games in six games for different age groups. Eighteen goals in the competition make him the most important scorer of the city.
He has previously undergone sessions with an individual coach used by Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Bruno Fernandes but there is one that benefits from a new regime in the city where there is an extra emphasis on one-on-one coaching twice a week.
Ryan McAidoo (Wing player, 16)
Signed from Chelsea last summer and his first season has become better than expected. Had active in central areas in Chelsea, but City only used McAidoo as a broad man and he blooms.
Still only 16, he started the UEFA Youth League quarter final defeat at AZ Alkmaar and was the smartest spark in the night. He scored a 20 -minute hat trick against Feyenoord in an earlier round and studies Jeremy Doku and Savinho.
Five performances for the less than 21s suggests that the International of England Under 17s will probably find a more permanent home with the older group of Ben Wilkinson next year.
Mail Sport asked McAidoo about whether the steps he had expected to bring gigantic progress this period – called to also train with Guardiola on one occasion. “No, not really,” he said. “I planned to go well, but not so good.
'Now I am being doubled. I have to see who is. I am not always allowed to dribble, so sometimes a small two or even recycling to the other side is the better option. Having the defender on his toes helps me.
'Most of my goals go to the next few games are the ball much more crossing. If I can cross the ball more, I can add more skills if I don't choose it. That amounts to unpredictability. '
McAidoo spoke a few weeks before he crossed Matty Warhurst to score the winner of the city in Watford in the last four of the Youth Cup.
Oliver Whatmuff (goalkeeper, 17)
A goalkeeper of England under the age of 18, Whatmuff started as a central defender while playing in Blackburn before he came to the city at the age of eight.
Whatmuff plays an age group, so the hand of gloves with Max Hudson at this level, but is expected to start the final.
A strong shot stopper with 13 clean sheets of 28 games in five games this season, the teenager born in Lancaster is also usually decent with his feet after years of watching Edererson in City.
“It's different here,” he said Mail Sport. 'You are more involved, but not. Certain games in which you simply are not in it. But there are times when you have to play, make many saves. '
His relaxed attitude away from the sticks has shades Aaron Ramsdale in his youth.
Finlay Gorman (central midfielder/right wing player, 16)
A lot of talk around Gorman after City had closed a seven -digit record to sign him from Leeds United last year.
The 16-year-old played an important role in the run to another final of the youth cup and scored four goals, including a hat trick at West Brom.
Reduced with an agile left foot, his style can cause comparisons with some others to have worn the blue of the city. Academic bosses will hope that he will kick up next season and become a star when he can be seen for the Under 19s in the European competition.
Seven goals and eight assists in a team of less than 18 years to surpass the Premier League is a decent return for the year, but more should come.