With all the talk of Manchester City and the millions they spend on players, it is important not to forget the young English talent they have.
Joe Hart was offered and signed a new five-year deal with the club earlier in the summer, and now it's the City defender Micah Richards' turn.
Richards was offered a four-year deal with City as Roberto Mancini looks to build for the future. Micah, still only 23, debuted for City in 2005 against Arsenal as a substitute but had to wait another four months before being given his full debut.
It would be under the guidance of another great English defender, Stuart Pearce, that Richards would show his worth. For the 2006-07 season, Micah was given the No. 2 shirt rather than his previous No. 45.
Richards has not only been a rock at the back. (Who remembers his tussles with Tevez in the Manchester Derby a few seasons back?) But he has has come up with some important goals.
His first was a header in the dying moments of an FA Cup game against Villa. That last-gasp goal set us up for a replay, which we won. His second was again an equalising goal, this time in the league and against a strong Everton side.
His goals in the FA Cup-winning run are also noteworthy. In the 5-0 replay win against Notts Co, Richards scored a sublime volley. In truth, the game had already been won, but then in the quarterfinals against Reading, his header was the difference between what happened and what usually happens!
Micah beat Steve Redmond as the youngest first-team City captain when he deputised for the injured Dunne in a game against Villa in September of 2007. He has been knocked unconscious for the cause and is a player that gives everything he has when he pulls on the sky-blue shirt.
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