Claudio Echeverri, Reigan Heskey and eight young Man City stars set to follow Nico O'Reilly into the first team as Pep Guardiola looks to accelerate Etihad rebuild

City fans don't usually have much time for devils but they might make an exception for their exciting new attacking midfielder, whose nickname in Argentina is 'El Diablito' ('The Little Devil'). Echeverri has also earned another eye-catching description, the next Lionel Messi. Many young Argentines have been burdened with that comparison before and had disappointing careers, but Echeverri is certainly the hottest young prospect in his country right now.

He signed for City last year from River Plate for £12.5m, following in the footsteps of Julian Alvarez. He only recently joined up with the squad, though, due to his participation in the U20 South American Championship, where he captained Argentina to finish runners-up, also finishing top scorer with six goals. He could yet make his debut before the end of the season although a loan move is likely for 2025-26 as he looks to get more European experience. But with Kevin De Bruyne having confirmed he's leaving, and the clock ticking on Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan's City careers, there is little doubt that he will form a major part of the club's new-look attack in the future.

News of a 14-year-old impressing in Leeds United's U18 team travelled fast and City showed no hesitation in making their move for one of the hottest young prospects in the game, signing Gorman by the time he was 15. City paid a fee rising to £5m - a record for a 15-year-old - to land the midfielder in 2023 and he has made steady progress since moving from Yorkshire to Manchester, posting eight goals and five assists in 20 games in all competitions this season.

Gorman, who turned 16 in September, generated fresh hype with a stunning hat-trick in the FA Youth Cup against West Bromwich Albion in February and then showed how much self-belief he has by remarking that the treble was 'a long time coming'. He clearly has big ambitions and, if he continues to progress at the same rate, he has the potential to follow in Phil Foden's footsteps as the next academy graduate to achieve great things in the first team.

The winger followed his older brother Jaden into the City academy and lined up alongside him when he made his debut for the U19team in the UEFA Youth League last season despite being just 15. He made an instant impact, winning and converting a penalty in the eighth minute. It was not the only time he would make a huge impression in his first appearance for one of City's youth teams. He was given an opportunity in the U21s a few months later - then aged 16 - for a match against Norwich City and in the space of 22 minutes he scored a hat-trick.

The son of Premier League cult hero and ex-England international Emile, Reigan is faster than his father and his brother. He loves to run down the left wing and cut on to his right foot, although he is also deadly with his left. "He’s got an unbelievable chance to be a top player. He has a lot of attributes you’d look for in someone of his position," said coach Ben Wilkinson. City have a wealth of classy wingers in Savinho, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish, and Heskey looks set to join them, continuing his family's football dynasty.

Guardiola has never given youth prospects an opportunity they didn't deserve so it speaks volumes of his belief in Stephen Mfuni that he not only took him on the club's tour of the USA last year, when he was only 16, but also gave him a taste of the action late on in their friendly win over Chelsea in Columbus. The coach said Mfuni's progress was one of the main positives of an overall disappointing tour in terms of results. And he has since backed up his words by inviting Mfuni to train with the first team on a number of occasions this season.

Mfuni scored in the FA Youth Cup final and has taken a keener interest in honing his attacking skills since working with Guardiola. He told the Manchester Evening News that working with the legendary manager "opened my mind" and revealed that he wants to become a hybrid of Virgil van Dijk, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones. Essentially, a commanding and physically formidable defender with a flair for playing out and a hunger for scoring and creating. It is a lofty but admirable aspiration to have and one that will stand him in good stead in his bid to further impress Guardiola and one day make it into the first team.

The defender joined City in January from an old friend - sister club New York City. Originally from Essex, McFarlane moved to the US with his family at the age of three and when he was 11 was scouted by the NYC academy. After three years he was fast-tracked into senior football, becoming the third youngest player in the MLS to be handed a first-team contract. It meant playing against professional adults from the age of 14, forcing him to raise his game and his athleticism to the highest level.

McFarlane was a left winger initially but he was later brought into defence, playing as a centre-back before settling in at left-back. He made eight senior appearances in MLS before moving to City's youth system, where he has been playing in the UEFA Youth League side and with the U21s. If he can take the next logical step up and progress into the first team, he will be the first major success story of the City Football Group and its pioneering multi-club model.

Youth coaches are always careful about praising their players in a bid to prevent them getting too complacent and to try and prevent them being burdened by the hype. So when City's U18 boss Oliver Reiss described Divine Mukasa as "brilliant", "unbelievable" and "incredible", it made people sit up and take notice.

Mukasa had already caused a stir with his remarkable goal and assist statistics, which are on the level of Mohamed Salah. He has 14 goals and 14 assists in the U18 Premier League, while his total goal contributions across three age groups stands at a frankly ridiculous 39 in 34 matches. "He is so brilliant on the ball. What he can do with the ball sometimes is unbelievable," Reiss said after Mukasa starred in the FA Youth Cup routing of West Brom. "It looks sometimes too easy for him, because of his quality. He's good with both feet, normally he's left-footed but then delivers to the corner with his right foot. So no problem, the way he's thinking, what he sees, it's incredible for me."

Mukasa, who joined City from West Ham in 2023, cites Zinedine Zidane and Kevin De Bruyne as his role models and if he can translate his record at youth level when he turns professional then he stands a good chance of emulating their achievements.

City signed three centre-backs in January and although the transfers of Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis attracted the most attention as they cost a combined £70m ($90m), the acquisition of Abdulai Juma Bah was arguably more intriguing. It was certainly more controversial. Real Valladolid threatened legal action when City captured the towering 18-year-old after impressing on a loan spell at the Spanish side, who were hoping to sign him permanently.

Bah was immediately loaned out to Lens - where City signed Khusanov from - and is yet to touch base at the Etihad Stadium. But once he has got more European experience under his belt he will soon be ready to make the leap to English football as he has all the attributes to thrive at City. The Sierra Leone defender is renowned for his 6'5" frame - the same height as Virgil van Dijk - and stood his ground in La Liga thanks to his physical frame. He is also blessed with excellent technical ability, leading to comparisons with Paul Pogba, and is adept at bringing the ball out from the back.

Family is at the heart of Lakyle Samuel's early inroads as a youth player at Manchester City, with the son of the late Jlloyd Samuel having had to deal with immense tragedy at a young age. Lakyle's father, who played over 200 Premier League games across spells with Aston Villa and Bolton, passed away in 2018 and the now 18-year-old explained to the Manchester Evening News how his dad's football career, that he has largely digested via YouTube clips, has inspired him to want to follow in his footsteps. Indeed, everything he does in the game is to make his mum, brother and sister proud.

And he's undoubtedly on the right path to make a big impact in professional football, with Samuel, who is comfortable at centre-back and right-back, playing regularly in the City U18 squad that claimed the Premier League title in 2022-23. He would go on to gain invaluable experience by appearing in the UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup after being promoted to City's EDS squad and it wouldn't be long before Guardiola would reward that progress, handing Lakyle his senior debut in the 4-2 friendly win over Chelsea in Ohio in 2024. An England U18 international, Samuel is knocking on the door of the first team and it's possible he'll be involved with the first-team when City head to the Club World Cup in the summer.