The PFA recently held their awards evening for the 2023/24 campaign and, unsurprisingly, it was a busy night for a number of stars from Manchester City.
Three of their players were shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award and it was won by academy graduate Phil Foden, for his incredible efforts last season.
Erling Haaland and Rodri were also among the nominees, alongside Martin Odegaard, Cole Palmer – another former City player, and Ollie Watkins, but the England international came away with the trophy.
Foden racked up an eye-catching 19 goals and eight assists in 35 appearances in the Premier League to fire City to another title, ahead of Arsenal.
The 24-year-old superstar is one of the biggest success stories from the City academy, if not the biggest, and is currently the most valuable ex-academy star – as per Transfermarkt – at €150m (£126m).
Palmer, who won the PFA Young Player of the Year for Chelsea, is another great success story from from the academy, but there is another, potentially, lesser-known former City youth star who has gone on to prove them wrong.
Michael Olise was once part of the club's academy set-up and has since gone on to create a fantastic career for himself, and is currently worth more than first-team star Savinho.
Savinho's current market value
As per Transfermarkt, the Brazil international has a current market value of around €50m (£42m), which has already increased after his £30m move to The Etihad during the summer transfer window.
Savinho arrived in England after his sublime season on loan with Girona in LaLiga last term, as he helped the Spanish side to qualify for the Champions League.
The impressive winger, who only turned 20 in April, produced nine goals and ten assists in 37 league outings, whilst playing on the left or the right flank.
His creativity in the Spanish top-flight was particularly impressive. He created an eye-catching 14 'big chances' and was rewarded with ten assists, which suggests that his teammates let him down at times with their wasteful finishing.
That form convinced City to add him to their squad and the left-footed ace, who missed the win over West Ham United through injury, has made a promising start to his career in England.
Appearances
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Penalties won
1
Key passes per game
2.5
As you can see in the table above, Savinho created five chances, produced one assist, and won a penalty in his first two Premier League matches for the Cityzens.
The Brazilian sensation also completed four dribbles, with an 80% success rate, and looks to have settled into life in England incredibly quickly.
However, City had another supremely talented left-footed right winger, Olise, on their books in the past and they had a howler by allowing him to move on.
Man City's Michael Olise howler
The Cityzens swooped to sign the youngster from Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2016, after the winger had spent seven years in West London, having joined them from Arsenal in 2009.
However, Manchester City seemingly decided that he did not have a future at The Etihad as he only lasted one year at the club before his free transfer to Reading the following summer.
This meant that the Premier League giants allowed the teenage whiz to move on for £0 and that has turned out to be a big blunder from them, as his career has only gone from strength to strength since then.
Olise broke into the first-team with Reading and racked up seven goals and 14 assists in 73 appearances for the club in all competitions, including seven goals and 12 assists in 44 Championship games in the 2020/21 campaign.
His form in the second tier convinced Crystal Palace to bring him to the Premier League for a reported fee of £8m in the summer of 2021, which provided him with a chance to showcase his talent on the biggest stage in England.
The left-footed star went on to produce 16 goals and 25 assists in 90 appearances for the Eagles before he secured a move to Bayern Munich this summer, for a fee that has made him more valuable than Savinho.
How much Bayern Munich paid for Michael Olise
The Bundesliga giants, who missed out on the title to Bayer Leverkusen last season, reportedly splashed out a fee of £50.8m to sign the English-born youngster this summer.
This means that he is worth more than £8m more than Savinho, who plays in the same position as him as a left-footed right winger, and that is because of his fantastic form in the Premier League for Crystal Palace.
Olise racked up two goals and five assists in 26 matches in the top-flight in his first season with the Eagles, as he started to adapt to top division football.
The French wizard, who was described as a "joy to watch" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, then stepped up with two goals and 11 assists in 37 Premier League matches the following campaign.
His incredible form in the 2023/24 season for Crystal Palace, under Roy Hodgson and Oliver Glasner, then convinced Bayern to splash just over £50m on his services.
Appearances
19
Goals
10
Big chances created
9
Assists
6
Key passes per game
1.9
As you can see in the table above, Olise provided a regular threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals, with 19 goals and 'big chances' created in 19 appearances.
Since his move to Bavaria, the 22-year-old star has created seven chances and registered one assist in three appearances for the club in all competitions.
Bayern will be hoping that he can translate his incredible form from the previous Premier League season over to the Bundesliga to help them win the title back off Leverkusen.
Man City have struck gold on a "magician" who's worth way more than Palmer
He did not cost them anything
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Meanwhile, City may be wondering what could have been if they had kept hold of him at youth level and offered the forward a pathway to first-team football, as he is now an elite talent who is worth more than the player they splashed £30m on in his position this summer.
