Highlights

  • Manchester City's youth academy has produced some incredible talent over the years, with players like Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho making a big impact in professional football.
  • Some players from City's 2016/17 FA Youth Cup final team have had decent careers in the professional game, while others have struggled to find their footing.
  • Despite their success in developing young players, City lost the FA Youth Cup final to Chelsea in a surprising 6-2 defeat, with the Blues boasting talented individuals like Mason Mount and Reece James.

While Manchester City have become known for buying major, ready-made superstars, they've actually shown they're more than capable of creating their own talent too. Their academy has seen some incredible names come through the ranks, with Cole Palmer the latest name to burst onto the scenes at the club, and recently earning a big move to Chelsea.

Phil Foden is probably the biggest name to ever come out of the club's youth ranks, and he's made a pretty spectacular career for himself at the Etihad so far, but the players he was surrounded with in the club's academy were also pretty good. Sure, most didn't cut the cake at the Cityzens, but they've gone on to have decent careers. The club's 2016/17 FA Youth Cup final team is pretty impressive.

While some of the players inevitably didn't make it, there are more than a handful who have been plying their trade in the professional game over the last few years, so without further ado, here's every member of Man City's starting lineup in the 2016/17 FA Youth Cup final and what happened to them.

13 GK - Arijanet Muric - Burnley

Aro Muric

Starting off fairly strong, Arijanet Muric was in between the sticks for City during the FA Youth Cup final loss to Chelsea, and he's had a fairly decent career since. After numerous loan spells away from the Etihad to the likes of Nottingham Forest, Girona and Willem II, he joined Burnley on a permanent deal last summer and was a key figure for the club as they secured promotion to the Premier League in dominating fashion.

With the arrival of James Trafford this summer, his status as the club's first-choice keeper has taken a hit, but he remains at the Lancashire club and will continue fighting for a spot. He's also played 32 times for the Kosovo national team, which is also impressive.

12 RB - Demeaco Duhaney - Istanbulspor

The first name to never quite make it, Demeaco Duhaney has failed to find a real home since leaving the Etihad in 2019. A short spell at Huddersfield which saw him make 20 appearances offered glimpses of promise, but he couldn't force his way into the side and he was let go after two years. A further two years at Stoke, where he made just three league appearances, failed to impress and this summer he joined Istanbulspor.

The 24-year-old has made two appearances so far for the Turkish Super League side and time will only tell how well the move will fare.

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11 CB - Sadou Diallo - Derry City

Sadou Diallo moved to another youth academy a couple of years after the final, joining Wolverhampton Wanderers' set-up. He failed to impress at the club, though, and after a brief loan spell at Accrington Stanley, he joined Forest Green Rovers in 2021. He never quite cemented himself as a regular member of the club's first team, though, and it wasn't long before he was on the move again.

In 2022, he moved to Ireland and joined Derry City, where he remains today. Having made 47 appearances for the club, he's interestingly moved further forward and now plays as a midfielder.

10 CB - Ed Francis - Gateshead

Another former defender who's now playing as a midfielder, Ed Francis' career has seen him drop down the English football leagues. Ironically, he also joined Diallo in moving to Wolves' academy. After a brief tenure at Harrogate Town, he joined Notts County in 2021 and seemed as though he'd found a home. Making 53 appearances for the club, Francis' time started off strongly but soon tailed off.

After falling out of favour at the side, the Englishman headed to Gateshead on loan, before he eventually signed a permanent deal with the club. He's made 14 appearances for the club.

9 LB - Tyreke Wilson - Shelbourne

The second name in the team to have ended up moving to Ireland, Tyreke Wilson has spent his entire senior career playing in his homeland. First joining Waterford in 2020, he soon moved on to Bohemians in 2021 and made 49 appearances for the club.

He moved on earlier this year, though, teaming up with his brother John Ross at Shelbourne. He's since made 22 appearances for the club.

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8 CM - Jacob Davenport - Morecambe

Initially viewed as quite a promising prospect, Jacob Davenport left City in 2018 and signed with Blackburn Rovers who thought quite highly of him. The centre midfielder made 36 appearances for the team too, and it initially looked like he'd have a strong future in the Championship.

He fell out of favour at the club, though, and was let go in 2022 when he joined Lincoln City. He failed to make a single league appearance for the club, though, and moved on quickly, joining Stockport County just months later. This summer, he joined Morecambe and hasn't featured for the side yet.

7 CM - Matt Smith - St Johnstone

Matt Smith was actually one of the longest-tenured players in this team, remaining with City until last year. He did spend an incredible amount of time out on loan, though, with spells at Charlton Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Doncaster Rovers and Hull City to name a few. He eventually moved to MK Dons in 2022 and had one full season at the club where he made 31 appearances.

He was also on the move this summer, though, joining St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

6 RW - Jadon Sancho - Manchester United

Jadon Sancho places his arms in the air in celebration to the Old Trafford crowd in a Premier League game against Southampton.
Jadon Sancho places his arms in the air in celebration to the Old Trafford crowd in a Premier League game against Southampton.

Now we're talking. This team is clearly top-heavy and the forwards are certainly the bright sparks. Starting with Jadon Sancho, City didn't value the star highly enough and allowed him to join Borussia Dortmund months after the FA Youth Cup final. From there, he instantly made the decision look foolish. During his time in Germany, he became one of the most highly-rated young forwards in the world and had numerous teams clambering for his signature.

After four years, 137 appearances, 50 goals and 64 assists, he left the Bundesliga a legend and joined City's chief rivals, Manchester United. His time in the red side of Manchester hasn't gone quite to plan, though. After failing to replicate the form he showed at Dortmund, he was recently dropped from the Red Devils squad by Erik ten Hag due to poor performances in training and hit out at the manager on social media. His days at Old Trafford may be numbers, but there's no denying he's clearly been one of the best players to come out of City's FA Youth Cup 2016/17 final team.

5 AM - Brahim Diaz - Real Madrid

4 Brahim Diaz Real Madrid

Following the FA Youth Cup run, Brahim Diaz did enough to earn a shot in the City first-team, making five Premier League appearances throughout the following campaign. He made 15 appearances in total for Pep Guardiola's side over the next two years, before he was sold to Real Madrid in 2019 for just over £15m.

His time in Spain has been fairly underwhelming, though, and Diaz has failed to ever really solidify himself as a key member of Los Blancos' squad. After failing to really make an impact, he spent three straight seasons on loan at AC Milan, where he had a pretty impressive run. Making 124 appearances and 18 goals for the Serie A side, he clearly did enough to earn a shot at Madrid and has appeared twice already this season for Carlo Ancelotti's side.

3 LW - Phil Foden - Manchester City

2 Phil Foden

Easily the biggest success story to come out of the FA Youth Cup final team, Foden has gone on to be one of the most promising young attackers in the world and has cemented his place as a pivotal figure in City's first team. The only player that remained at the club, the Englishman has been nothing short of breathtaking throughout his professional career so far.

Winning just about everything there is to win, Foden is already one of the most decorated footballers in the world, and he somehow just keeps getting better and better with every passing year. With serious competition at the Etihad, the Englishman likely isn't playing quite as much as he would anywhere else in the world, but there's no denying how important he's been for the club over the years.

1 ST - Lukas Nmecha - VfL Wolfsburg

Marcus McGuane in action for Arsenal
Football Soccer - Arsenal v Manchester City - FA Youth Cup Semi Final Second Leg - Emirates Stadium - 4/4/16Arsenal's Marcus McGuane and Manchester City's Lukas Nmecha in actionMandatory Credit: Action Images / Matthew ChildsLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.

Once considered one of the most exciting young forwards in football, Lukas Nmecha had a number of loan spells away from City between 2017 and 2021. Turning out for the likes of Preston North End, Anderlecht and Vfl Wolfsburg, it was the Bundesliga side who eventually signed him on a permanent deal two years ago.

Since then, he's featured regularly for the club, making 50 appearances so far and scoring 15 goals for them. He's even broken into the German national team, making seven appearances for his country. He might not be the dynamite goalscorer many thought he would be, but he's still managed to carve out a nice career so far at the top of German football, and who can complain about that?

Still, with a team this impressive, it's wild that City somehow lost 6-2 to Chelsea. The Blues team that day was also stacked with talent, featuring names such as Mason Mount and Reece James.