*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:49, 22 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:57, 1 October 2024 (UTC)
Nico O'Reilly[2] was born on 21 March 2005 in Manchester.[3] He started his career with the Manchester City academy when he was eight years old.[3] He moved up to the Manchester City under-23 side towards the end of the 2021–22 season, and subsequently signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2022.[4] O’Reilly captained the under-18s during the 2022–23 season.[5] He made some headlines after he was filmed scoring an overhead scorpion kick in the 95th minute of an under-18s match for
Manchester City against Middlesbrough in April 2023.[6] A week later, he scored another spectacular goal with a forty-yard chip against Manchester United under-18s.[7]
O’Reilly trained with the Manchester City first-team on a warm weather training camp to Abu Dhabi in December 2022.[8] He was included in the match day squad for their Premier League fixture on away to Brighton & Hove Albion on 24 May 2023, and was included amongst the match day substitutes.[9][10]
Born in England, O’Reilly is of Jamaican descent.[12] He scored his first goal for the England under-16s against Northern Ireland on 3 June 2021, in a 6–0 win.[13][14] A few months later, he scored his first goal for the England U17 side, in the 88th minute of a 2–2 draw away against Slovakia on 21 October 2022.[15]
On 6 September 2024, O'Reilly made his England U20 debut during a 1-1 draw away to Turkey.[16]
Style of play
O’Reilly has been described as an attacking midfielder with “flair” who is “graceful and fluid with the ball at his feet”.[17]
