MANCHESTER CITY have dominated the Premier League in recent seasons thanks to massive spending and a world-class academy.
The City Football Academy continues to bring in a seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent.
Some stars – such as Phil Foden – have broken into the Etihad first team.
While others – including Cole Palmer and Liam Delap – have left, arguably prematurely, for hefty transfer fees.
SunSport has investigated whether there may be a hint of regret at City for letting some youngsters go.
Morgan Rogers of Palmer, Delap and Aston Villa all feature in this XI that the club had in the building but chose to let go.
According to Transfermarkt values, the star-studded team is now collectively worth over £460m.
James Trafford – £15.2 million
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The England Under-21 goalkeeper joined Burnley for £15 million in July 2023 after six years at the Etihad Academy.
Trafford is a penalty machine and recently Sunderland's Wilson Isidor was denied the spot twice in the same match.
The 22-year-old has been instrumental in helping the Clarets become the best defense in the Championship this season, conceding just nine goals in 27 games.
Pedro Porro – £38 million
Originally bought as an 18-year-old youth team prospect in 2019, Porro was never part of City's first team.
He was loaned out and eventually ended up at Sporting Lisbon for a fee of £17.4 million.
Porro, now valued at more than double that price, is back in the Premier League with Spurs a first-team regular.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis – £21 million
Harwood-Bellis, from Stockport, was signed by City at the age of six.
He was a rock in defense as City reached the FA Youth Cup final in 2019 and made his first-team debut later that year.
After a successful move to Southampton last season, he was bought by the Saints for £20 million following their promotion.
Tosin Adarabioyo – £16.9 million
Adarabioyo was spotted by City's head of recruitment Terry John when he was just five years old.
He spent 13 years in the academy but only played in four senior games for the club.
Tosin established himself as a regular at Prem at Fulham last season, before moving to Chelsea in the summer.
Romeo Lavia – £33.8 million
City enticed Lavia to join their Academy as a raw but talented 16-year-old.
He came over from Anderlecht and was training with the first team within a year.
In search of regular football, he joined Southampton and earned a big-money move to Chelsea a year later, signing a huge seven-year contract.
Injuries may have derailed his progress, but Lavia remains one of the Prem's best players.
Felix Nmecha – £16 million
Nmecha was born in Germany, but attended the city academy at the age of 7.
He played across all age groups but was controversially sacked by City when his contract expired in June 2021.
Nmecha returned to Germany, where he impressed for Wolfsburg and is now a regular at Dortmund.
Jadon Sancho – £25.3 million
An Academy media darling, Sancho joined City from Watford as a 15-year-old and was quickly promoted into the senior squad.
But after failing to get game time, Dortmund ventured in to secure an £8million bid.
Sancho's career has not taken off as expected since returning to Manchester from City's rivals Utd in 2021 for £72m.
He is still under contract with the Red Devils, but is currently on loan at Chelsea, where he has scored two goals in fifteen games this season.
Michael Olise – £55 million
Olise is a missed opportunity for City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
All three had the winger on their books before he joined Reading in 2017.
Olise has since developed into one of Europe's most exciting playmakers, earning a £50million move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace last summer.
Cole Palmer – £110 million
Palmer could be City's biggest mistake after the club let the forward leave for £40 million in the summer of 2023.
The 22-year-old had already broken into the first team at the Etihad when the Blues came knocking, but had failed to secure a regular place in the first team.
He has since flourished for both England and Chelsea since making the move south.
Palmer scored 36 goals in just 54 appearances for Chelsea, adding 17 assists.
Morgan Rogers £33.8 million
Rogers was signed from West Brom after playing in the 2019 FA Youth Cup semi-final.
He was loaned out to several EFL clubs before landing at Middlesbrough in 2023.
Rogers, still just 22, has made leaps and bounds in the past two years.
He joined Aston Villa for a reported £15 million and enjoyed a breakthrough season, scoring six times in 21 games.
Liam Delap £21.1m
City signed Delap from Derby in 2019 following his impressive goalscoring record for the England youth teams.
He made his first-team debut in September 2020, before having successful loan spells at Stoke, Preston and Hull.
With no quick route to the first team, Ipswich opted for Delap following their promotion to the Premier League.
The powerful striker committed himself to the Tractor Boys for the next five years and has already scored 8 goals this season.
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