Micah Hamilton: Everything you need to know about Man City starlet | OneFootball

Highlights

Manchester City are beginning to earn a reputation for being a club that produces very talented young players. Some examples of players who have graduated from the City Academy in the past couple of years include Roméo Lavia and James Trafford.

This proves that things don't always work out for players at the Etihad Stadium, but there is still an opportunity to move on to other Premier League clubs. Micah Hamilton will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Phil Foden and Rico Lewis to become a regular in Pep Guardiola's plans, however, and the youngster got off to a sensational start on his debut for the club.

The lightning-quick winger was given the nod to start in City's final Champions League group match of the 2023/24 season, with the club already being qualified for the next round as the group winners. Hamilton opened the scoring in the away game against Red Star Belgrade after taking on his man and rifling the ball into the roof of the net.

With a heavily rotated squad securing a 3-2 victory in Belgrade with fellow academy graduate Oscar Bobb also finding the back of the net, let's take a look into Hamilton and find out how he's got to where he is now.

Micah Hamilton's journey so far

From Man City ball boy to starting in the Champions League

It took just shy of 20 minutes for the youngster to score on his first start for the Citizens' senior squad with a clinical finish. Capable of playing as an attacking midfielder and winger, Hamilton was tasked with starting the game from the right flank, and he grasped this opportunity with both hands. That sort of versatility is exactly what has seen Foden and Lewis earn a regular place in the City team, as Guardiola loves players who can fulfil several different roles.

Speaking of Guardiola, the first time many fans would have seen Hamilton was back in 2017 - although no one would have known - as the young teenager at the time was a ball boy for a Man City match. The Spanish manager could be seen handing out some words of wisdom to the young boy, as seen in the clip below.

Hamilton now finds himself being advised by the best manager in the Premier League as a member of his playing staff six years later. Being born and brought up in Manchester, one can only imagine the dream the attacker has been living in while representing his boyhood club at all youth levels. He initially joined the club at the Under-9 level and has worked his way up through the ranks all the way to making his first start for the reigning European champions alongside England internationals, John Stones and Jack Grealish.

There is an increasing possibility that Hamilton, along with the aforementioned Bobb, is the next big star to emerge from the conveyor belt that the City Youth Academy has become. Hamilton has been handed the responsibility of captaining the Elite Development Squad as they look to defend their Premier League 2 trophy in the 2023/24 campaign. This comes after an injury-hit season, in which Hamilton struggled to reach the highs of his best season to date.

Scoring 11 goals and registering eight assists from only 22 appearances in the Under-18s Premier League during the 2020/21 season, Hamilton found his goalscoring form and will be looking to translate this to the first-team. The emphatic strike in Belgrade on his full debut is certainly not a bad way to have started.

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

Jamie Carragher issues warning to Micah Hamilton

He couldn't resist a cheeky dig at Micah Richards in the process

It was quite a moment for the 20-year-old, as shown by his jubilant celebration. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was full of praise for the youngster, with one slight criticism to hold him in good stead going forward.

Carragher was joined in the CBS Sports studio by Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry and another former Man City youth player in the form of Micah Richards. Now an ambassador of the club, Richards initially broke onto the scene in 2005 as an all-action right-back. Now a pundit, Richards is tasked with giving his analysis and opinions on modern-day players, but the ex-England international was forced to sit and listen as his fellow pundits poked fun at him.

Initially giving praise to young Hamilton for his all-round display, Carragher said: "There was a lot to admire. He reminds us of this man on our left [Richards]. His performance was fantastic." With a conniving look on his face, viewers were all too aware that a joke was on the horizon after Hamilton had been given his praise and the attention switched to Richards.

Richards was quick to show his disagreement with Carragher's criticism of the theatrical way Hamilton had thrown himself to the ground during the match, but the former Liverpool hero wasn't quite done yet. The finger of blame was pointed firmly in Richards' direction as Carragher asked: "He obviously looks up to you, so where do you think he got it from? Where do you think he learnt it from Micah Richards?"

This was before a hilarious clip of Richards - during his Aston Villa days - hurling himself to the ground in the most dramatic way possible inside the penalty area in the Premier League game against Stoke City. The way he was able to contort his body and end up with his feet as high as the opposition defender's head was rather impressive, but the attempt to win a spot kick was ludicrous.

Hamilton's alleged dive was nowhere near as controversial or theatrical as Richards', and the young man can hold his head high after putting on a superb display in his first start for the 2022/23 treble-winning side.