Man City face £31m transfer irony amid unlikely World Cup dream

Nico O'Reilly enjoyed an excellent England debut against Serbia on Thursday night and the Manchester City star is now in with a chance of making the World Cup squad.

A year ago this week, Nico O'Reilly played in midfield as Manchester City Under-21s were beaten 5-0 by Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy at Sincil Bank in front of a crowd of 3,055 people.

Just 366 days after that chastening night, O'Reilly was making his England debut at left-back. It has been some year for the City academy graduate, whose attention has switched from the EFL Trophy to making the Three Lions' World Cup squad, and maybe even forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel's starting XI.

Speaking to ITV after a composed debut against Serbia on Thursday night, O'Reilly accepted the reality that left-back is now his position. The 20-year-old has long eyed a career in midfield, but when you're excelling in a different role for coaches of the calibre of Pep Guardiola and Tuchel, it might be best to accept their plans.

“Yeah, at the minute," O'Reilly said when asked if he was a left-back. "It’s where I’ve been playing a lot. I think I’ve been dominating that position at my club. I’d say so, at the minute."

As Tuchel said after the game, O'Reilly is a shy and reserved character and when he said he was dominating that position at his club, he might not have meant it to sound as bombastic as it did. But then it is true.

O'Reilly has started seven of City's last eight Premier League games at left-back and has begun three of their four Champions League fixtures in the same position. On Sunday, Guardiola was raving about his performance against Mohamed Salah.

He had actually started this season with a couple of midfield cameos off the bench, only for £31million summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri to pick up a hamstring injury at the end of August. O'Reilly has locked the position down since then and Ait-Nouri was unconvincing when handed a start against Swansea in the Carabao Cup recently.

There is certainly an irony to the fact that City have spent years looking for a specialist left-back, only to sign one and then find they probably didn't need him after all. Ait-Nouri will likely come good, but right now, his path back into the team is blocked by the imposing academy ace playing in front of him.

O'Reilly's England debut was just his 34th senior career appearance and even if he harbours ambitions of one day heading back into midfield, he will realise that his route to games for City and into the England squad for next summer is at left-back.

"Nico had a fantastic debut today, he is a very calm person," Tuchel said. "He seems to be very shy, he doesn't speak a lot, but he is very intelligent on the pitch and adapted so well to all the new things we demand from him. So, well done."

O'Reilly was confident enough after his debut to speak about his ambition of going to the World Cup, a target that looked unthinkable just a year ago.

"It is an aim for me to try to get to the World Cup," he said. "There's huge competition but I have got to just keep working hard, game by game and day by day."

England aren't overflowing with left-back options. Myles Lewis-Skelly looked to be in pole position, but now can't get in the Arsenal team. Djed Spence and Tino Livramento have played there, but are natural right-backs.

That is leaving the door ajar for O'Reilly, who might be about to find that he is first-choice left-back for Manchester City and England. Despite being a midfielder.