Manchester City U21 boss Barry-Murphy leaves to seek 'new challenge'

Manchester City Under-21s Head Coach Brian Barry-Murphy has left the club after three years to seek a "new challenge", leading to a revamp of their Professional Development Phase.

The Irishman joined City in July 2021 from Rochdale, where he had been manager for two years. He won consecutive Premier League 2 titles with the club, in 2022 and 2023, completing a hat-trick following on from Enzo Maresca’s triumph for City’s Elite Development Squad in 2021.

Writing on Instagram, Barry-Murphy said: “I will always be thankful for the opportunity to work at such a great club. However, I believe I have taken then role as far as possible and feel ready for a new challenge.”

City Academy Director Thomas Kruecken added: “Brian has made a huge contribution in his time at the club. Guiding our U21s to two successive Premier League 2 titles was a superb achievement and he deserves great credit for the role he played.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian for all of his efforts during his time at the club and to wish him well for his future career.”

Ben Wilkinson has stepped up from the U18s to take charge of City's EDS. The 37-year-old, who is the son of former Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson, won the FA Youth Cup with the U18s last season, as well as reaching the final of the U18 Premier League Cup and finishing second in the Professional U18 Development League.

In the two seasons before that, City won the U18 Premier League.

German Oliver Reiss, 41, has been brought in to replace Wilkinson as U18 Head Coach. Reiss has worked for Hertha Berlin for the last 17 years, making his way up through the age groups to lead their U19 team.