Man City summer tour can show off new first team player for Pep Guardiola

After a few years on pause during the pandemic, Manchester City returned to pre-season tours in 2022.

Pep Guardiola took his players to the United States in 2022 before heading to the Far East last year in trips where football is often a secondary factor. The main aim for the club is to promote themselves with an audience who rarely gets to see them up close, earning more global appeal and money as a result.

That doesn't mean that there is no footballing upside though. Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic are among the new signings that have been able to bed into the team during this time, and it has also been a critical time for academy players.

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Two years ago, Rico Lewis picked his moment to shine as he impressed in a friendly against Bayern Munich to convince Guardiola that he had first-team potential. Before the season was out, the teenager had displaced Joao Cancelo from the side and shown John Stones how to thrive in the hybrid role that he would star in against Inter in the Champions League final.

Last summer, step forward Oscar Bobb. James McAtee also impressed but when he headed out on loan to Sheffield United there was space for Bobb to step into after impressing first team coaches with his displays in training and friendly games; Bobb then scored one of the most important goals of City's season with his late winner in the Premier League game at Newcastle.

Guardiola does not easily give major opportunities to young players but there is always a path for those that are good enough. While Phil Foden is the north star of the academy, Lewis and Bobb have also shown what can be done in the summer months to earn the trust of the manager for the coming season.

This year, there will be an even bigger chance for academy players given City have had 14 players at the European Championship as well as Julian Alvarez at the Copa America. It will be a young squad that heads out to North Carolina and everyone will get the chance for the manager to see them up close.

There will of course be more attention on the signings that City make or the players coming back from loans that can be added to the first team squad, yet recent tours have proven invaluable in adding some extra depth to the group from the academy that can make a difference going forward.

Those heading out with Guardiola's squad won't know it until it happens, but all can have the confidence that there is a genuine chance they can play their way into the first team plans. By the time the plane touches back down in Manchester, City could well have a new first-teamer.