The Five Manchester City Academy Graduates That Became Stars At Other Clubs

Content Editor

4 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Ben Mee, Burnley, Daniel Sturridge, Jadon Sancho, Kasper Schmeichel, Kieran Trippier, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, spurs

Over the years, Manchester City’s academy has churned out a whole host of talented players; some of which have made the grade, and some that haven’t.

There have been some stars that came through the ranks at the Citizens but went on to make it big at other clubs.

Sometimes, it was down to the player themselves, looking for regular first-team football, or it may have been the club’s decision to cut ties with them, but they went on to have successful careers regardless.

Press the next page as we go through five Manchester City academy players that got away.

Kieran Trippier

Many felt that the fullback could have made the grade at City if he had stayed at the club but the lack of first-team opportunities meant he was loaned to Barnsley and Burnley between 2010 and 2011.

Trippier signed for Burnley on a permanent basis in 2012 and he impressed as the Clarets were promoted to the Premier League in 2014. He moved to Tottenham in 2015 before switching to Atletico Madrid in 2019. He now has 21 England caps.

Ben Mee

Although the centre-back hasn’t had quite the same level of success as Trippier after swapping the Etihad for Turf Moor, he has firmly established himself as a reliable Premier League centre-back.

Mee made one appearance for City in the League Cup before being loaned out to Leicester in 2010. He then moved permanently to Burnley a year later, helping Sean Dyche’s side to promotion from the Championship in 2017 and maintaining their status in the top flight since then.

Kasper Schmeichel

The son of goalkeeping legend Peter, the Dane only made a handful of appearances for City during his seven years at the club. Most of his time was spent out on loan before he moved to Notts County permanently in 2009.

After brief spells at County and Leeds, he made a name for himself at Leicester, where he helped win the Premier League title in 2016. He is now very much a Foxes legend.

Daniel Sturridge

The striker did make his first-team breakthrough at City but he joined Chelsea in 2009 after refusing to sign a new deal. He didn’t really get the first-team chances he wanted at Stamford Bridge, being shipped out on loan to Bolton Wanderers for the second half of the 2010/11 season.

Sturridge eventually made the move to Liverpool in 2013, where he racked up 67 goals. Injuries did restrict his game time but he was a key player for most of his seven years at the club.

Jadon Sancho

We certainly couldn’t leave the England international off this list. City sold him for just £8m to Borussia Dortmund in 2017 with the player entering the final year of his contract.

Sancho has now become a prominent first-team player for the Bundesliga club over the past couple of years, racking up goals and assists, and attracting interest from Manchester United. Despite only being 20 years of age, he already has 13 England caps.