Man City youngster handed surprise start in Champions League clash at Red Star Belgrade… as picture emerges of him with Pep Guardiola as a ballboy in 2017
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has called up several young stars for their Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday evening, including a 20-year-old debutant.
City have comfortably advanced to the knockout stages of the tournament, having won all five of their group stage matches in Europe so far.
Although they top Group G with second-placed RB Leipzig unable to overtake them, they play their final match of the pool stage against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia tonight, with their Spanish manager opting to make nine changes to his team. defeated Luton at the weekend.
Guardiola has also made particular calls on former City ballboy Micah Hamilton, who has impressed for their Premier League 2 side.
Hamilton, a City Academy graduate, has featured in nine PL2 matches this season, with the winger collecting five assists.
He was also once pictured speaking to Guardiola while working as a ball boy during a match against Crystal Palace in 2017.
The manager was reportedly disappointed with how slowly his side played during the match and had called on the ball boy and his colleagues to help his side speed things up.
According to the Athletic's Sam Lee, Guardiola had said: 'If there was a foul, no one was going to take the ball and start playing. It took five or ten seconds for someone to grab the ball and start playing. When this happens, everything moves slowly.”
The Spaniard has also recalled out-of-favour midfielder Kalvin Phillips to his side, who will start in midfield alongside Hamilton and Matheus Nunes, with Oscar Bobb leading the attack.
More to follow…