Manchester City Set to Welcome Bahia Academy Trio in City Football Group Exchange Programme

Manchester City Set to Welcome Bahia Academy Trio in City Football Group Exchange Programme Hugo Viana and co will be keeping a close eye on how the incoming Bahia trio get on in Manchester. The players will arrive at Manchester on November 29 and stay till December 14, a period wherein they will train at City’s facilities, gain experience in the club’s academy and gain meaningful insight into English football. Their upcoming arrival, however, is not directly related to possible acquisitions and is rather part of the relationship between Bahia and Manchester City through the City Football Group. This also does not mark to be the English club’s first batch of youngsters from Bahia, with Roger Gabriel having trained with City and Girona in 2023, followed by Ruan Pablo making the trip to Manchester in 2024. As reported in Brazilian newspaper A Tarde  and relayed by Sport Witness , the aforementioned trio have been selected for the latest exchange programme between the two clubs. The trio, who are soon to arrive at Manchester City , are not complete novices, having some international experience under their belts, and will gain exposure to English football during this training spell. Leonidas is a centre-back who received a Brazil U15 call-up last year, while Daniel David plays as a forward and was also selected for the age group in 2025, followed by representing the U16s in 2026. Lyan, meanwhile, is also an attacking player who has already been involved with Brazil’s U-17s this year, and, as per local outlet  ecbahia.com , he was included in the squad for the South American Championship, where he was back-up to Kaue Furquim. An important opportunity for the development of the three players, says Bahia academy director Speaking ahead of the Bahia trio’s trip to Manchester, the club’s academy director Marcelo Teixeira described the exchange programme as an 'important opportunity' for the upward mobility of their bright youngsters. Teixeira mentioned that this initiative offers a new perspective on football in terms of training methods, day-to-day academy life, and an overall experience that can add to their growth. “This exchange is an important opportunity for the development of the three players," Teixeira said. "They’ll get to experience Manchester City ’s academy routine up close, train in a different environment, experience a new culture and language, and return with experiences that contribute to their growth, both as people and as footballers. It’s an opportunity that Bahia’s integration into the City Football Group offers our young players." This exchange programme has been in place for a while and highlights one of the significant advantages of City Football Group having clubs spread across the world, contributing to further development of clubs and players. Back in April, Jonathan Marinho and Ruan Victor were included in training activities with Manchester City’s U18s. Since 2016, City have signed several young talents from Brazil - including Gabriel Jesus, Vitor Reis and Allan Elias from Palmeiras in 2017, 2025 and 2026 respectively. While the upcoming arrivals of Leonidas, Daniel David and Lyan are merely to train and not structured as a trial as such, the opportunity could open the door for the trio to have a possible future at the Etihad Stadium.