Manchester City assistant boss Hans Backe is delighted with the work of the club's academy staff.

"I'm very impressed with the talented players that have come through, the likes of Kasper Schmeichel , Nedum Onuoha, Micah Richards and then of course Kelvin Etuhu has come into the team this season," Backe told City's website.

"It's a superb achievement and it has to be one of the best in the country, because I cannot see any other Premier League club producing so many young players.

"I don't think it compares with anything overseas, smaller countries are having real problems producing top-flight players through their academies. If you look around Europe you can see one or two, like Lyon and Auxerre, who have produced some young players, but it's very few.

"We must have one of, if not the, youngest teams in the Premier League. Micah has 11 England caps, and he's still only 19 years old, so that, along with how much Johnno and Nedum have played for us, is very impressive."