It’s been a fantastic start to 2025/26 for Braithwaite who has been captaining the Under-18s who sit at the Under-18 Premier League North summit as we enter the New Year.
The 17-year-old has also impressed in the UEFA Youth League, EFL Trophy, Premier League International Cup and FA Youth Cup following his senior debut against Watford in our 2024/25 Carabao Cup campaign.
And in our latest instalment of the Official Man City Podcast, the young defender attributed his progress to the key learning opportunities presented to him and fellow Academy prospects when they have the chance to train with the first team.
“I think the biggest thing [difference between Academy training and first team training] is everyone is like a winner, everything they do they just want to be the best at it,” said Braithwaite.
“I think that’s the biggest difference. In the Academy you might not value winning as much as what they do.
“That’s the biggest thing I take from it. Everything, the smallest detail, the have it to a tee and I think if you’re not doing them details like passes for example if it’s not on the right foot, it’s a difference to them.
“I think the biggest difference is they’re just winners.”
Alongside Braithwaite on the podcast was Elite Development Squad winger Ryan McAidoo.
The 17-year-old has also been a familiar face that has been called upon to train with Guardiola’s side in preparation for matchdays.
His hard work in those sessions has also seen McAidoo named on the bench for our Premier League games against Burnley and Nottingham Forest this season.
And for the England youth international, it’s the level of the sessions that has seen him develop exponentially since he joined City’s Academy in 2024.
“Everyone is a lot better and a lot cleaner because that’s the business end of football,” McAidoo explained.
“So it’s more like everything you have to do in training has to be clean, has to be sharp.
“So it’s like they almost train like they’re playing another game. Training with them is a lot harder than training with the Under-21s or Under-18s because they have a game every three days so you can’t kind of slack off unless you’re given a longer break.
“Every day you have to be on it.”
And when asked by podcast co-host Nedum Onuoha on whether the jump up in level between Under-21s and senior football surprised him, McAidoo said:
“No because it’s what I expected.
“I expected it to be quite high intensity, tiring because we weren’t used to it at the time.
“Everyone there is on it. Good footballers and just all good players, nothing more you can say than that. They’re world class.”
