Man City confirm appointment of new Under-18 coach & return of two former players in academy restructure

Manchester City have confirmed the appointment of Oliver Reiss as their new Under-18s coach, as part of a wider restructure of the club’s coaching set-up.

It was confirmed last week that Under-21s boss Brain Barry-Murphy had departed after three years with the club, to be replaced by Ben Wilkinson. The Yorkshireman, who previously managed the Under-16 side, has enjoyed a successful spell in charge of the Under-18s, which culminated in the team lifting the FA Youth Cup last season.

Reiss, therefore, comes in as Wilkinson’s replacement at Under-18 level and brings a wealth of experience from Germany. The 41-year-old enjoyed a distinguished spell at Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, where he has head coach of the Under-17s and Under-19s. Reiss spent 17 years at Hertha and departed the club earlier this summer.

As part of the coaching overhaul, Richard Dunne has joined the club as Reiss’ assistant. The Irishman, who spent time at City’s academy last season, made 352 appearances for the Blues during his nine-year playing stint in Manchester.

He’s not the only former City defender returning to the club, and Kolo Toure has been named as new Under-16 assistant coach. The 43-year-old, who also represented Arsenal and Liverpool during his playing career, takes his first coaching role since he was sacked by Wigan Athletic in January 2023 having failed to win any of his nine matches in charge.

Commenting on City’s new coaching structure at youth level, academy director Thomas Kruecken said: “I am very pleased and excited to be able to confirm our coaching structure for the new season.

“This is part of our evolution and progression looking to the future and also illustrates that we are keen to promote from within and encourage a clear career progression and pathway. We have enjoyed great success in recent seasons, but we want to continue to look to develop and improve.

“Continuing Manchester City academy’s development is vital, and these appointments leave us ideally equipped to meet the challenges of next season and beyond.”

City will hope the changes to their youth-set up enhance their peerless production of underage talent in recent years. This summer alone the club have sold academy players Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tommy Doyle, Lewis Fiorini and Liam Delap for a combined fee of up to £46m.

That’s in addition to repeated success at Under-18 and Under-21 level, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb, Romeo Lavia, James Trafford and Morgan Rogers progressing through the youth ranks in the last five years.