Floyd Samba and Ryan McAidoo call minutes before Man City FA Cup game speaks volumes

Manchester City youngsters Floyd Samba and Ryan McAidoo were named in Pep Guardiola’s squad for their FA Cup but took in another game before heading over to the Etihad.

Floyd Samba and Ryan McAidoo were both named in the Manchester City squad for their FA Cup game with Salford City. The academy pair were picked in Pep Guardiola’s squad of 20 for the fourth-round clash as he gave rest to some players.

McAidoo, a 17-year-old winger who arrived from Chelsea two years ago, started the third-round game against Exeter in what was his senior debut and marked an impressive performance with a goal and assist. Assistant manager Pep Lijnders raved about the youngster and his 'insane pressing' after the game.

It is the first call-up for Samba, a 17-year-old playmaker who has come through every age group of the City academy. He has impressed this season for the youth teams and has been training with the first team in recent weeks. Their inclusion in the FA Cup squad meant that they were not available to face Manchester United Under-18s in the league on Saturday morning. Both had scored in the 4-1 FA Youth Cup win at Chelsea on Monday to help book City’s place in the quarter-finals of a competition they are looking to win.

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City are top of their Under-18s league as well but suffered just their second defeat in 14 games with a 1-0 defeat against second-placed United. Samba and McAidoo couldn’t play against United but they did take the time to watch their teammates at the side of the pitch before making their way over to the Etihad.

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That will not have gone unnoticed by staff, with behaviour a major factor in young players earning opportunities in the first team. "This is exactly it," said Under-18s coach Oli Reiss. "We had this on Monday [at Chelsea] and talked about this before the game and then celebrated together after. It is not just always having top players in one team and put them on the pitch and be a good team.

"Can we enjoy playing together? Can we fight sometimes also together and support each other? We saw this on Monday and this it is nice to see Ryan and Floyd supporting us today ahead of being involved in the first team. It can be one of our strengths this season."

Guardiola is looking for one last push from his team against Salford before giving them some well-deserved time off ahead of their Premier League game with Newcastle next Saturday. The Blues have stabilised after a poor start to 2026 and have won five of their last six games in all competitions.

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