'Tough bit now' - What next for Man City academy stars after Huddersfield debuts

Three Manchester City youngsters made their professional debuts against Huddersfield and a fourth got another taste of a first-team squad on a matchday.

Manchester City under-21s boss Ben Wilkinson has challenged the club's latest debutants to kick on from their taste of first-team action at Huddersfield Town and deal with the return to age-group football that is likely to come their way.

Divine Mukasa, 18, played the full game in City's 2-0 Carabao Cup win at the Accu Stadium, while Jaden Heskey, 19, and Reigan Heskey, 17, came off the bench to make their professional debuts.

There was also further first-team experience for highly-rated 17-year-old centre-back Stephen Mfuni, who didn't get on but has now been on the bench against Manchester United, Napoli and Huddersfield.

The quartet are all likely to drop down and play for Wilkinson in Premier League 2 or the UEFA Youth League again in the coming weeks. Mukasa is the most advanced at senior level, having spent most of this season training with the first team.

Speaking about Mfuni and Mukasa's first-team exposure in recent weeks, Wilkinson said: "The two boys you mentioned, Steph's been here since he was a really young boy, he's done fantastically well to then start training with them more regularly.

"It's a great step for him and the same with Divine. He's really impressed since he came back in the summer.

"It's a fantastic experience for them and the tough bit for them is now when you're in that position, just maintaining your level and learning from the experiences you get and making sure that when you train and play every time, every opportunity you get, that you make the most of those experiences and try and become a better player."

Mfuni and Mukasa have trained more regularly with the first team than the Heskey brothers, although Reigan has been involved in sessions over the last few weeks.

Their graduation to first-team squads doesn't mean their days in development football are over, and Wilkinson admits it can be a challenge to build on that exposure now if they return to his squads.

"It's human nature," he said. "I think for a lot of us when you move to a new environment that's at such a high level, then everything you do is at an absolute 100% concentration and focus, just like the best you can actually do, and then when you then are put back in an environment you're more comfortable in, most people's nature is to kind of just revert to an extent, so it's a challenge that you face.

"I think everyone will be aware of it, including the players, and you just have to deal with it on an individual basis and be aware of what might happen and just manage it the best you can with the experiences you've had."

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