Nico O’Reilly has been named the Premier League Young Player of the Season, becoming the seventh recipient of the award. The Manchester City starlet finished ahead of teammate Rayan Cherki and Manchester United prospect Kobbie Mainoo to claim the honour.

“I’m very proud to have won this award,” O’Reilly enthused after fighting off some tough competition. “After my first appearances in senior football last season, I knew this year I could have the opportunity to play more and help the team as much as possible if I worked hard.

“To get so many minutes and earn the trust of the manager and my teammates has been the greatest achievement in my career so far. I am so grateful to my family and everyone at City because this wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

O’Reilly’s campaign was notable for a standout performance away from the Premier League. The youngster scored twice in the Carabao Cup final as Man City beat Arsenal at Wembley. Those displays contributed to his inclusion in England’s 2026 World Cup squad.

Winners since the award’s introduction:
2019–20: Trent Alexander-Arnold — Liverpool
2020–21: Phil Foden — Man City
2021–22: Phil Foden — Man City
2022–23: Erling Haaland — Man City
2023–24: Cole Palmer — Chelsea
2024–25: Ryan Gravenberch — Liverpool
2025–26: Nico O’Reilly — Man City

The Young Player of the Season prize began in 2019–20, with Trent Alexander-Arnold the inaugural winner after helping Liverpool to their first ever Premier League title with four goals and 13 assists. Manchester City players have taken several of the subsequent awards. Phil Foden won back-to-back prizes in 2020–21 and 2021–22 before being aged out of contention. Erling Haaland then won during City’s treble-winning campaign courtesy of his 36-goal return in the Premier League.

Manchester City needed a win to keep the Premier League race alive but settled for a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday, a result that handed the title to Arsenal. Eli Junior Kroupi curled home in the 39th minute to put Bournemouth ahead. City pressed after the interval but could not find the end product required. Erling Haaland scored deep into stoppage time, but the goal proved only a consolation.

Pep Guardiola’s side finished four points behind league leaders Arsenal with one game remaining. Reports emerged before the match that Guardiola is on his way out at the end of the season after a decade in charge. The manager has already won six league titles with City, and this season his team also lifted the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, but Tuesday’s draw will leave a stain on the final campaign.

The performance was criticised for lacking urgency and for being one-dimensional, even when two goals were required to keep the title race alive. Guardiola was animated on the touchline and in the technical area as the seconds ticked down.

Individual ratings reflected a mixed display. Rodri was one of the few to emerge with credit, rated 8.3: “Bossed the game from the midfield, hit the woodwork and had 112 touches, the most in the game.” Gianluigi Donnarumma received a 7.0 and needed the woodwork to help keep Bournemouth to one goal. Erling Haaland was marked 7.9 for his stoppage-time strike after a quiet first half. Matheus Nunes (7.3) and Abdukodir Khusanov (6.9) struggled at different stages; Khusanov was described as being caught in no man’s land for the opener. Several substitutes made brief impacts: Savinho (7.0) won all his duels, Phil Foden (6.4) kept play alive for Haaland’s eventual strike, while others saw limited minutes.

The match statistics underlined a close game. Bournemouth had 45% possession to City’s 55%. Expected goals were Bournemouth 1.99, Man City 1.67. Total shots were 10 for Bournemouth and 14 for City, with shots on target 2 and 5 respectively. Big chances favored Bournemouth 3-1, passing accuracy was 80% for Bournemouth and 87% for City, and fouls committed were 16 to 7.

Pep Guardiola’s decision to leave Manchester City after a decade will force a recalculation across the game. His time at the Etihad has seen City dominate English soccer; the club later became the first in England to win four league titles in a row, and Guardiola’s 2022–23 treble matched Manchester United’s 1998–99 success.

This season, widely reported to be his last before City appoint former assistant coach and ex-Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, Guardiola has already delivered a domestic cup double. It could become a domestic treble if they can snatch the Premier League title from Arsenal.

Guardiola has previously spoken of a desire to manage a national team. “In our lives we have dreams of what we’d like to do in the future, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen,” Guardiola said at the time. “I would like to play a World Cup and a European Championship. I would like to live that situation. When I see the World Cup, I think I would like to be there. I had just one chance to do it as a player [in 1994]. In eight, 12, 14 years maybe it could happen. It’s just a dream I have as a manager and a person. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn’t.” He was more cautious in 2024: “What I’m not going to do is leave Manchester City and go to another country. I wouldn’t have the energy to do so.” When asked specifically about Spain eight years ago he said he thought it was “not going to happen,” so that option remains uncertain.

Club and national options line up differently. Paris Saint-Germain could be possible if Luis Enrique moves on; Enrique has ended PSG’s Champions League hoodoo and Guardiola would have the chance to become the first manager to win the European Cup with three clubs, having already won it with two alongside Enrique, Jupp Heynckes, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Ernst Happel, José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti.

Spain would be the most obvious national role given his playing history of 47 caps and captaining Spain to Olympic gold in 1992. Italy presents another attractive project after missing a third straight World Cup in 2026; Guardiola also played for Brescia and Roma. England is plausible in the longer term while Thomas Tuchel’s contract runs to after Euro 2028. Mexico, where El Tri have endured seven round-of-16 exits in the last eight tournaments and have not reached a quarterfinal in 40 years, is another option; Javier Aguirre is currently in his third spell. The United Arab Emirates could offer a developmental brief: the country has not reached a World Cup since 1990 and missed chances to qualify for 2026 against Qatar and Iraq.

Finally, Guardiola has shown he values time away from the game. When burnt out at Barcelona he took a year-long sabbatical living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and said he loved having a relatively normal life away from Europe’s spotlight.