Report: Sancho absent from City training as rival clubs circle

Jadon Sancho has failed to report to Manchester City training on numerous occasions after being left out of the club's tour of the United States, according to The Telegraph's James Ducker.

Sancho, 17, has apparently attracted interest from RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. The exciting winger is stalling on signing his first professional contract at City as he seeks first-team football, and was apparently irked at being excluded from the senior squad's pre-season programme across the pond.

In his stead, plenty of academy graduates have been given an opportunity in friendlies against Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Tottenham Hotspur. None have shined more than 17-year-old Phil Foden, the Stockport lad who expertly eked out space for himself against archrival United, and Brahim Diaz, also 17, who scored against both Real Madrid and Spurs.

Related - Watch: Diaz sweeps in stunner as Manchester City batters Real Madrid

While those two have sparkled for City at youth level, Sancho was arguably the most hotly anticipated product from the academy. The winger, signed from Watford for around £500,000 in 2015, was a standout player at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Croatia earlier this summer, helping England to a runner-up finish with his incisive runs and audacious tricks.

"Sancho and Foden are very good," Germany coach Christian Wuck told UEFA.com ahead of the knockout stage. "I've never seen better players than these two at this age."

City may instead be without one of the most exciting prospects in English football due to the stacked options ahead of him in Pep Guardiola's squad. Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane were regulars in the previous campaign, and will jostle for position in the 2017-18 term with versatile pair Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus, new signing Bernardo Silva, and perhaps even Patrick Roberts, who is back at the club after a year-and-a-half on loan with Celtic.

Guardiola favouring a system with wing-backs as well - evidenced in the usage of Kyle Walker and Danilo in the United States - may also lessen minutes for wingers in his squad, particularly if he opts for a 3-5-2 setup.

There's a wish from many City supporters to see some early fruition of its heavy investment into the youth system, with much of that progression dried up since the likes of Willo Flood, Stephen Ireland, and Michael Johnson emerged in the 2000s. The club's hierarchy set an ambitious aim in 2012 to assemble a fully homegrown team by 2027.