The claim was made by the father of promising Dutch teenager Adam Maher, who has reportedly been attracting the attention of City and Barcelona amongst others. Yet it seems City will find themselves at the end of the queue if Maher senior is to be believed. "A few years ago he could have gone to Manchester City, Lyon or AC Milan," he said. "But it is still too early for a big step. Adam is too young. There is always room for one year or three or four more. "His agent, Sigi Lens, isn't even taking calls from abroad. In any case, we've seen what can happen to young players who join big clubs like Manchester City." The statement seems rather harsh. Prior to the massive investment from Sheikh Mansour, City had a reputation for being one of the best academies in the country, bringing through dozens of young players, including Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards amongst others. Although that work stalled slightly as City made a frantic push towards the top end of the table, the club recently unveiled plans for a multi-million pound training facility next to their home ground, to which there would be access for some of England's finest young talent. There has even been a suggestion City would pay for private schooling to ensure football development is maintained alongside academic achievement. The Blues are rightly proud of the recent ascent of four youngsters to Roberto Mancini's first-team squad, plus the progress made by another former City graduate, Daniel Sturridge, towards a first England cap. "Manchester City FC are proud of our academy and of the success we have had for many years in developing young talent from both the UK and overseas," a club spokesman said. "Our academy has for a long time been held up as a beacon of success, having produced the likes of Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Danny Sturridge, Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright-Phillips. "Already this season we have seen first-team debuts for young players Abdul Razak, Karim Rekik, Denis Suarez and Luca Scapuzzi. "This shows that the club continues to provide an excellent opportunity for young talent to flourish and prosper."
