5 reasons why Manchester City will dominate English football for a long time

#3 The Youth Academy

Foden in action against Feyenoord

When the news emerged that then Manchester United player Robin van Persie and former United legend Phil Neville had sent their children to Manchester City's Etihad Campus for learning the ropes of the game, it came as a startling piece of news.

United are the gold standard as far as youth academies in England is concerned but over the past few years, Manchester City's youth academy has upstaged them somewhat and it seems that it will continue to do so in the years to come. For instance, United's Under 15s were beaten 9-0 on two occasions by City's Under 15s in 2016 and 2017.

The reasons behind this surge are quite simple. First of all, City have invested heavily in the state of the art academy and in addition to that, there are incentives that are not offered by any other youth academy in England. Scholars are enrolled at some of the leading schools in the city and even if they do not eventually make the cut, the club takes care of the expenses till they finish their school education.

Some of the leading players from the academy include Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz among others. However, it remains to be seen how City make use of these talented youngsters. It can either turn into their own La Masia, along the lines of Barcelona's legendary academy or a factory with the help of which the club can finance further hyper-investment in their first team squad. Whatever they choose, the youth academy is going to be one of Manchester City's strongest suits in the years to come.