A player who is making his mark has an imprint on him. Nico O’Reilly has got a tattoo of a telephone code: 0161, the prefix for Manchester numbers. “It’s where I grew up, Manchester, the area,” said Manchester City’s No 33. “It's me, really, how I became who I am today. Growing up there, I really enjoyed it. I used to go out, play football every day with my friends. I’m still in touch with a lot of them.”
O’Reilly still plays football with his friends now. Except that those friends are Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Rodri. He grew up idolising Kevin De Bruyne and admiring Ilkay Gundogan; there have been games this season when an ultra-versatile player has taken their old roles in the City midfield.
