Here’s what you could have had, Pep! The host of former Man City youngsters who are now shining in the Premier League as Guardiola faces an extensive rebuild at struggling champions

Manchester City have long been hailed for their recruitment under Pep Guardiola with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, and Erling Haaland amongst many who have become world-class stars.

But as the club’s struggles become more apparent than ever this season, there is a host of players who were deemed not good enough at the Etihad that are now thriving at other Premier League clubs.

Chelsea has become a dumping ground for City academy graduates in recent years with the Blues benefitting more than any other top-flight club as three of Enzo Maresca’s current stars started out in Manchester.

Now with the reigning English champions lacking quality in depth and the January transfer window fast approaching, it’s expected that City are going to spend heavily in a bid to escape the crisis they find themselves in.

However, it’s a case of what-ifs and bad calls by City that have left them in this position as several former stars punish the club’s decision not to give them a chance in the first-team.

Mail Sport explores the former City players now shining at rival Premier League clubs as Guardiola faces an extensive rebuild. 

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

The now-thriving Chelsea superstar really is the one that got away and, on reflection, it’s an absolute recruitment disaster that asks questions of those responsible at the very top of the club.

Palmer’s signature cost Chelsea just £42.5m – £17.5m less than what Man United forked out for Mason Mount – and since joining the Blues last summer he has scored 36 goals and registered 21 assists in 63 appearances.

The 22-year-old was raised in City’s academy but was routinely given the cold shoulder by Guardiola when he started asking for more starting opportunities as the Spaniard stood by the likes of Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva.

Now, Palmer is showing just how big a mistake that was for City to make as he stars in a Chelsea side challenging for the title.

Romeo Lavia (Chelsea)

Another City academy star now doing the business at Chelsea is Lavia, who admittedly moved to Stamford Bridge from Southampton but only after the English champions decided he wasn’t good enough for their first-team.

It’s taken the 20-year-old time to settle in London after a difficult first season under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, when he was plagued by injury, but is now finding form and delivering on his potential as a first class defensive midfielder.

Ironically, Lavia would have been a readymade replacement in City’s midfield for injured midfielder Rodri whose season-long injury has been a core focal point of the club’s recent downfall.

Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

The Aston Villa rising star has survived a long journey to playing in the Premier League but it all started at City for Rogers, who moved to the club as a 17-year-old youth player from Middlesbrough in 2019.

Rogers was desperate to try and make the grade at the Etihad but was never given a chance by Guardiola and instead was sent out on several loan spells to Lincoln, Bournemouth, and Blackpool before eventually being sold back to Middlesborough only last year.

Half a season later and Villa came knocking after spotting Rogers’ goalscoring ability with Middlesborough pocketing £15m – 25 per cent of the fee going to City.

Julian Alvarez’s departure for Atletico Madrid has raised questions over Guardiola’s decision not to have a back-up striker to Erling Haaland, a role which Rogers would have been perfect for. 

Jadon Sancho (Chelsea)

What a turbulent career Sancho has had so far and he’s still only 24-years-old. Starting as a City youth star, Sancho rose all the way up to playing in the club’s Under-18 team before eventually departing for Borussia Dortmund.

It was in Germany where Dortmund unlocked the potential City had helped harness and a later move to Manchester United for £72million caused dismay at the Etihad as one of their top academy stars joined a local rival.

Admittedly his time at Old Trafford ended in tumultuous fashion, but Sancho looks to have found his footballing home at Chelsea and is beginning to show the skill, creativity and goal threat that City are in desperate need of.

City spotted Sancho’s potential but never gave him a chance to show it in the first-team.

Pedro Porro (Tottenham)

It will come as a surprise to many Premier League fans to know that the Spurs wing-back started his career at City, but that’s because he never made an appearance for the club.

Porro was loaned out to Real Valladolid just four days after joining City five-years ago and was next sent to Sporting Lisbon as Guardiola opted not to integrate him into his team.

The 25-year-old eventually joined the Portuguese side on a permanent deal and starred in Lisbon prior to being snapped up by Tottenham in a £42m in January 2023.

City have been so used to Kyle Walker being excellent at full-back during their spell of Premier League dominance, but the aging Englishman looks to have lost his pace and is becoming an ever-increasing liability for Guardiola.

Liam Delap (Ipswich)

The Ipswich forward is the club’s most influential player this season having been involved in 43.8 per cent of Kieran McKenna side’s 28 Premier League goals this season, but could have found himself finding the back of the net at City.

There was much expected of Delap as he progressed through City’s youth system and looked set to be given a chance in the first-team before subsequently being shipped out to Stoke on loan.

Prospective spells at Preston North End and Hull followed before the 21-year-old returned to City in the summer only to be sold on a permanent deal to Ipswich.

Delap is now thriving as an integral figure at Ipswich and is already demonstrating he has the ability to perform in the Premier League – something that those at City evidently didn’t believe was the case.