Fran Gonzalez, who works as a youth coach at Manchester City, has been speaking to Catalunya Radio (via Mundo Deportivo) ahead of the Champions League match between Manchester City and Barcelona at the Etihad.
The Deportivo La Coruna legend signed for Manchester City only this summer after the arrival of Pep Guardiola, and has been speaking about the drastic improvement at the Manchester City academy in recent years.
He said: “The improvement at the Manchester City academy in recent years has been brutal.”
Gonzalez, who represented the Spanish national team 16 times, insists the youth teams at Manchester City now play a more recognisable brand of football, something similar to Barcelona.
He said: “The style of youth teams at Manchester City is already recognisable, now played with the style of Barcelona, the system of all teams is 4-3-3 and to start playing with the ball from behind, from the goalie.”
Gonzalez also pointed out that there are several good players coming out of the Manchester City academy.
He added: “There has been a huge leap in quality, there are several generations of very good players and we have to have them in mind for the future.”
The Premier League side have gone through a tremendous change since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour at the club.
Mansour has not only invested big in the senior squad at Manchester City, but has transformed other key areas, including training facilities, academy, and scouting network.
