The "magical" and "daring" winger was promoted to the first team by Pep Guardiola just as other academy hopefuls were forced to leave the club

Rather like its first team, Manchester City's academy is looking like the best in the world right now. City youngsters are so coveted that they are being sold for huge transfer fees despite having barely any experience with the first team.

The club have banked £156 million ($189m) in the last two summers alone on seven players from their academy, including Romeo Lavia, Carlos Borges, James Trafford and Cole Palmer. Palmer joined Chelsea for an astonishing £42.5m ($51.7m) in August despite having made just three Premier League starts, and he was the most experienced of all the academy players to depart.

But despite having a very high bar for youngsters to hurdle before getting into his first team, Pep Guardiola has proved that he will always give youth a chance if they impress him. He famously described Phil Foden as "the most talented player he has ever worked with" when the midfielder was just 19, and four years on he is one the most important players in his squad.

Guardiola also brought Rico Lewis into the first team last season, giving him huge responsibility in important games which led to the club handing the 18-year-old a bumper new contract. And now there is another young gem that he is blooding in the first team: Oscar Bobb.

The Norwegian was one of few academy players to go on City's pre-season tour of the Asia, and after an impressive run of performances in Japan and South Korea, he has been given his Premier League and Champions League debuts already this season.

GOAL profiles the latest talk of City's academy as he prepares to make his first start for Pep Guardiola's side in the Carabao Cup against Newcastle…

Getty Where it all began

Bobb was born in the Norwegian capital of Oslo in July 2003, just after City had bid farewell to their beloved Maine Road and were preparing to move into their new home on the other side of Manchester.

He started out playing for local sports club Lyn, and when he was 10 years old he caught the attention of Porto after starring at a youth tournament in the Algarve. Bobb's repeated attempts to join Porto were blocked by FIFA, however, due to the governing body's rules against the transfer of underage players.

Bobb's case was escalated to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which sided with FIFA over the player and his mother. Bobb and his mother had already moved to Portugal, yet they had little choice other than to return to Oslo, and the youngster signed for Valerenga in 2017.

City soon came calling, however, and that year Bobb and his family were invited to watch the team beat Tottenham 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium. Just after his 16th birthday, Bobb signed for City as a scholar and enrolled in their academy.

Bobb helped City's Under-18s side win consecutive titles, and then took the Elite Development Squad (EDS) by storm in the 2021-22 campaign. In January 2022, at the age of 18, he was called into Guardiola's first team for the first time for the FA Cup third-round tie at Swindon. He didn't get on the pitch in the 4-1 win, but one week later he used the experience to spur him on in the U23 derby against Manchester United, scoring in a 3-1 win. "It’s been crazy, probably one of the greatest weeks of my life," Bobb said.

He was later named City's EDS Player of the Year after scoring seven goals in the run to the Premier League 2 title, picking up the same award again the following season after inspiring his side to yet another league crown.

AdvertisementGettyThe big break

Just one month after City won the treble, Bobb was called-up to the first-team squad for the pre-season tour of Asia, joining the likes of Rodri, Jack Grealish and compatriot Erling Haaland. He came off the bench in all three matches, against Yokohama F Marinos, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, impressing his coach each time. "Oscar made an incredible season for the second-team last year. He played unbelievable today. He can play three or four positions as well," Guardiola said.

Bobb's progress came at the same time as Riyad Mahrez was preparing to leave for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, and just as Palmer, another academy graduate, was itching for a move away in search of more first-team opportunities.

"Oscar's obviously been a magical player for us, as good as I've seen any of my players in the academy," Bobb's EDS coach Brian Barry-Murphy told the in August."You're obviously going to be compared against the best players in the best team in the world. What the club decides is best for Oscar is something he'll take on board. It's been very exciting to see him in the first team and start to show what he can do. It'll be fascinating to see how the season works out for him, wherever he ends up."

GettyHow it's going

Bobb has gone from strength to strength since the summer and achieved a number of firsts. He was named in the squad for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, collecting his first senior medal after City won in a penalty shootout.

He then got his Premier League debut off the bench in the 5-1 win against Fulham, contributing to Erling Haaland's hat-trick goal which completed the rout. He earned another cameo in the 3-1 win at West Ham, and then made his first appearance in the Champions League against Red Star Belgrade.

“He is dynamic and has courage,” said Guardiola after Bobb's bow in Europe's top competition. “He lost two balls and has to improve to not do it, but sometimes it happens. He is not shy and has an incredible work ethic. So aggressive without the ball.

“This player can play four or five positions. His speed is really good. I like it when he says he would shoot and take responsibility in the final third to win games. I have the feeling that some players like Cole Palmer, [James] McAtee and Riyad [Mahrez] left, he will have a lot a lot minutes. He has to be ready to use it.”

Assitant coach Juanma Lillo added: “We have great expectations for Oscar. He’s won his place in the squad through his talent. He's a very alive player on the pitch, he’s very daring and he’s someone who can play on the inside and outside. We just need to be calm, we need to give him his time and he also has to be patient and give himself that time. But he's another great player that we’ve got who’s come from the academy and we expect big things.”

Getty Biggest strengths

Bobb is a master of keeping hold of the ball in tight spaces and capable of freeing himself from markers with just a couple of touches. He has honed his passing ability and vision as a midfielder, but can also play on the wing due to his ability to dribble at a high speed and his ease at cutting in from the right-hand side onto his favoured left foot.

The Norwegian was one of the most productive players in City's U21s side, contributing 17 assists in his last season in Premier League 2.