Man City U21s boss Wilkinson joins Derby as First-Team Coach
Written by
Simon Austin
June 30, 2026
Under-21s Head Coach Ben Wilkinson has left Manchester City after eight years to become a First-Team Coach at Derby County, TGG understands.
The 38-year-old starts at Derby this week and will be a key member of Head Coach John Eustace’s coaching staff.
Wilkinson – son of Howard Wilkinson, the last English manager to win the top-flight title – arrived at Manchester City from Sheffield Wednesday, where he had cut his teeth as a Youth Development Phase coach at the club his father once managed.
He joined City as U21s Assistant, before becoming U16 and then U18 Lead. His three seasons in charge of the U18s were highly successful, culminating in FA Youth Cup glory in 2023/24 with a 4-0 final win over Leeds United.
That summer he stepped up to lead the Elite Development Squad (U21s). Across his time at the club he worked closely with Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly, who went on to break into Pep Guardiola’s first team and then the senior England set-up.
In his final two seasons, leading the U21s, Wilkinson provided a crucial conduit between the Academy and the first team, charged with preparing players technically, tactically and physically for Guardiola’s step-up. A UEFA Pro Licence coach, he framed the role as one of “fine tuning”.
City’s Academy reshuffle
Wilkinson’s exit triggers a reshuffle at City’s Academy. TGG understands that German Oliver Reiss is set to step up from U18s Head Coach to replace Wilkinson with the U21s. Reiss arrived at City in July 2024 from Hertha Berlin, where he spent 17 years coaching the U17s and U19s, and led City’s U18s to the FA Youth Cup final in both of his seasons in charge.
Lauris Coggin is lined up to take over the U18s. Coggin joined City from West Ham United in November 2025 as Wilkinson’s U18s Assistant, having previously won the U18 Premier League Cup with West Ham.
Derby’s development push
Wilkinson joins a Derby side managed by John Eustace, who was appointed in February 2025 with the club in the Championship relegation zone. Eustace guided the Rams to safety on the final day of the 2024/25 season, then oversaw clear improvement in 2025/26, with Derby finishing 8th – four points and two places outside the play-offs.
The club has made a series of significant appointments as it builds out its football operation. Leigh Bromby, the former Huddersfield Town Sporting Director, joined initially as Interim Recruitment Lead and has since been made Talent Acquisition Lead, working closely with Eustace and CEO Stephen Pearce.
Bromby – who made individual development a cornerstone of his approach across nine years at Huddersfield – has been influential in assembling a new performance and coaching team designed around enhanced development plans for several first-team players and Academy graduates.
The club has also added Ben Jones as Talent Identification Lead and Fabian Unwin as Data and Analytics Lead, building out a sporting-intelligence function.
Wilkinson’s arrival fits that emphasis on development. Derby operate a Category One Academy at Moor Farm and introduced a B Team structure ahead of the 2025/26 season, designed to act as an extension of the first-team environment.
Derby open their pre-season schedule away at Alfreton Town’s Solana Stadium on Friday 17 July, before flying out for a week-long training camp in the Tyrol region of Austria from 18 July — the second year running the Rams have headed to the region under Eustace.
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