Goalkeeper son of Premier League legend joins Man City Academy as Maresca backs youth

Manchester City have brought goalkeeper Seb Jensen into their academy training group, with the 20-year-old joining from Brighton to bolster the club’s keeper numbers at the CFA.

Jensen, who has been capped by Denmark at Under-18 level and previously spent time at Everton, is the son of former Premier League goalkeeper Brian Jensen, who made his name at Burnley. The younger Jensen will support the first-team keepers in training and also work with Oli Reiss’ Under-21 side when not required elsewhere. City typically operate with four goalkeepers across their training groups, a structure that prompted the decision to bring Jensen in.

First-team manager Enzo Maresca has made his commitment to youth development clear this season, already handing minutes to Ryan McAidoo, Floyd Samba, and Kaden Braithwaite. That trend continued with the inclusion of young striker Dexter Oliver in the Carabao Cup squad for the midweek tie against Brighton. Maresca, who served as City’s Under-21 manager earlier in his coaching career, spent Wednesday afternoon watching the Under-18s beat Southampton 2-0 in a Premier League Cup tie — hours before his first team kicked off — with Timeo Whisker scoring both goals. The result leaves City’s Under-18s top of their group ahead of a final group match against Burnley.

The week brought more difficult news for the Under-21s, however. Oli Reiss’ side were beaten 5-0 by Port Vale in the EFL Trophy, trailing 4-0 at half-time before an improved but ultimately fruitless second-half performance ended their involvement in the competition.

Reiss was candid about the disappointment, particularly given the developmental value he places on the Trophy’s format, which pits academy sides against League One and League Two first teams. “Every game more we have in this competition will give us more opportunities to learn and develop, and this makes it a little bit more disappointing in terms of this being the last game in this competition,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

Attention now turns to a UEFA Youth League fixture against RB Leipzig in Germany, a significant test for the Under-19 group as they look to respond to the midweek setback.