The versatile youngster is the latest player to step up from the academy and the club are determined to avoid repeating their previous mistakes

Manchester City were the busiest team in Europe in the January transfer window and their splashing of £180 million ($232m) on four new signings raised eyebrows across the continent. Despite the arrivals of Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez making for a far more crowded dressing room, the club made sure that no player sneaked out of the door in the meantime. And it was not for a lack of offers.

Chelsea were very keen on signing the 19-year-old Nico O'Reilly but City held firm, perhaps keen not to make the same mistake they had made with Cole Palmer 18 months earlier by strengthening one of their biggest rivals while parting with a prized home-grown asset. But while Palmer had already demonstrated his talent on numerous occasions, O'Reilly was more of an unknown quantity.

It has since become very clear why City were so reluctant to let the teenager go to Stamford Bridge. O'Reilly has stepped up from the U21 and U19s to become a crucial part of Pep Guardiola's plans, a regular in the first team squads and an unexpected source of goals. O'Reilly has scored three times since the start of the year, vindicating the club's decision to hold on to him despite Chelsea's best efforts. And after he struck twice to see off plucky Plymouth in the FA Cup fifth round last week, the coach allowed himself to pat himself on the back. "Sometimes you take good decisions," he said with a smile.

GOAL takes a look at the latest City academy graduate to excel in the first team, a player who the club are determined to see succeed at the Etihad Stadium rather than elsewhere…

Where it all began

O'Reilly grew up in the north Manchester town of Failsworth, where Manchester United's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was born and raised. His family was a divided household when it came to football, with him following his mother and sister's lead by supporting City over United.

After taking his first steps as a player with local sides Moston Tigers and Failsworth Dynamos, he was approached by United and City's youth scouts, as well as being targetted by Liverpool and Everton. He ultimately opted to sign for City over United at the age of eight, and not just because he supported them.

He told the Man City podcast: "I started when I was three or four. I was at a few grassroots teams at the same time so my mum would take me from one game to another, rushing around. The first team that scouted me was actually United and then City came in for me as well as Liverpool and Everton. Before you sign a contract you train with all the teams so I was doing that for a bit. I had a choice when I was Under-8s and Under-9s out of City and United. I chose City because the training was a lot better."

AdvertisementThe big break

While City's senior team were plotting their course to winning the treble in the spring of 2023, O'Reilly started to make a name for himself with three outstanding goals for the U18s in the space of a week. Then playing as a No.10, he scored a 95th-minute winner against Middlesbrough with a stupendous scorpion kick. A week later he bagged a double in a derby at United, first netting with a crisp first-time strike and then lobbing the goalkeeper from 40 yards out.

The goals helped City win the U18 Premier League title, with O'Reilly doing the honours of hoisting the trophy as team captain.

GettyHow it's going

O'Reilly began to make in-roads into Guardiola's side on the pre-season tour of the USA last summer, playing further back than usual at the base of City's midfield. He scored his first goal for the senior team in a friendly defeat by Barcelona and although the tour was a disappointment in terms of results (City won just one of their four games), O'Reilly's emergence was the one success story.

He was rewarded with a start in the Community Shield against United and has since started every City game in the domestic cups. And after Guardiola's side exited the Carabao Cup in the fourth round, the FA Cup has been his platform to shine. O'Reilly scored his first senior goal in the 8-0 drubbing of Salford City in the third round, impressing in the fourth-round win at Leyton Orient and then producing a match-winning display against Plymouth. His performances in the FA Cup have been all the more impressive as he has been playing at left-back, having spent all his career as a midfielder or No.10.

Getty Biggest strengths

Guardiola highlighted O'Reilly's physical traits during the pre-season tour and explained why he saw him as a potential back up to Rodri in holding midfield, before the Spaniard seriously injured his knee in September. The coach said: "I'm pretty sure Nico can help us. He can play the role of holding midfield, he can do it, if Rodri isn't there. When Nico started training I said, "wow, this guy is big". Normally all the academy players are [small like] Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb. But this guy is good in the headers, so strong in the duels, small spaces."

O'Reilly proved his manager right by scoring twice with his head against Plymouth, bullying Jordan Houghton in the air to get on the end of Phil Foden's corner. The player's height is clearly an advantage. He is 6"2 and describes himself as "a big lad". But he has many more assets, a lot of them derived from his background further up the pitch.

"This guy has good things. From corners, good header, so strong in the duels, in the small spaces he moves well," Guardiola said in February. "As an attacking midfielder, you will see him arrive [in the box], he can play the dual position, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder. It’s because of the academy, we are blessed to have these players."

Another obvious strength of O'Reilly's is his versatility and his ability to play as an attacking midfielder, in holding midfield or more recently at left-back.