The England squad at Euro 2024 is heavily influenced by the playing fields of South Manchester and three players who could start against Slovakia today grew up in the same area.
The banlieues of Paris, the street footballers in Sao Paulo, the academy talent factories in Lisbon - all of them production lines for a steady flow of talent - but to the list can be added a small triangle just south of Manchester that might be called upon to help rescue England's Euro 2024 campaign in Germany tonight.
Mainoo's journey began with Cheadle and Gatley, Foden's with Reddish Vulcans and Palmer's with NJ Wythenshawe. Mainoo, 19, ended up at United as a boyhood red while Foden, the elder statesman at 24, was loyal to City as a boyhood blue. Palmer, 22, was the United fan who signed for City but has since moved to Chelsea.
"A grassroots club can give an opportunity to come and play football, enjoy it in an environment and if they're good enough and they want it enough then hopefully some of the professional clubs come in and take them on to that next level," he said. "City were after Kobbie just as much as United were but it was obviously always going to be a United player, just like Phil was going to be a City player. But they just stand out, they've just got this little bit of something. But what's happening now is the whole bubble is going up. It's a generational thing."
"The competition is frightening," said Makin. "You can't afford to miss somebody. It's highly unlikely now that any boy will get missed because everything is done with a microscope. Those grassroots clubs have helped to develop three players who stand out for their intelligence and technical quality. They are players who epitomise the change in development in English football, from athletes to technicians.
"He was doing stuff at seven and eight that I didn't see 14-year-olds do. His quickness of thought on the pitch, the things that he saw, and his technical ability to do stuff and be inventive, he was really good to watch. I always say that I had some good players but he stands out as the best player I've ever coached."
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