Manchester City have added young defender Josh Wilson-Esbrand to their Champions League squad for this season, despite an expected loan move for the 21-year-old left-back falling through during the summer transfer window.
Wilson-Esbrand was heavily involved in City’s pre-season preparations, starting three out of four matches as many of Pep Guardiola’s senior players were unavailable. The left-back impressed with solid performances, even as he dealt with a hamstring injury that forced him to limp off during the final friendly against Chelsea. Guardiola publicly praised the young defender for his efforts during what was a challenging summer for the squad.
Although a loan was anticipated to give him more first-team experience, Wilson-Esbrand stayed put and has now secured a spot in City’s 22-man Champions League roster. His inclusion gives Guardiola the option to call upon him for Europe’s biggest competition, ensuring more depth at the left-back position.
The decision to include him on the main ‘A List’ was necessary because of his birthdate—just five days before the cut-off that would have allowed him to be classified as an underage player exempt from the main list.
Another young talent, 20-year-old Brazilian Savinho, also made the ‘A List.’ Despite being younger, he is classified under this list due to UEFA’s rules regarding ‘association trained’ or ‘club trained’ players, which Savinho doesn’t qualify for, having arrived from Troyes and never having played in England.
Meanwhile, Oscar Bobb, a 21-year-old whose birthday falls after the cut-off in 2003, doesn’t need to be included in the main squad list but is currently sidelined due to injury. He is expected to be out until the new year and will likely be added to the roster once fit.
Rico Lewis, along with other promising academy talents like Nico O’Reilly, have been placed on the ‘B List,’ which allows younger players to be added without counting against the main squad limit.
Here’s the full list of City’s Champions League squad (* – B List player):
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Ortega, Carson
Defenders: Walker, Dias, Stones, Ake, Gvardiol, Akanji, Lewis*, Wilson-Esbrand
Midfielders: Kovacic, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Nunes, Foden, McAtee
Forwards: Grealish, Doku, Savinho, Haaland
