‘As long as I’m playing, I’m happy’: O’Reilly revels in role of City’s Mr Versatile

City Football Academy, Friday 10 January 2025 – Nico O’Reilly’s ascent from academy hopeful to Guardiola’s Swiss-army knife has been as rapid as it is remarkable. Twelve months after being told he would line up at left-back for the first time in his life against Salford in the FA Cup, the 21-year-old is preparing to walk out at Wembley for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal, equally at home in defence or midfield and now a fixture in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans.

“I’d never played there before,” O’Reilly smiles, recalling Guardiola’s bombshell in the training session before that third-round tie. “He just said: ‘Right, you’re playing at left-back tomorrow.’ I did well, gradually, and started playing there more. I enjoyed it – it was a good challenge.”

The challenge became a habit. O’Reilly featured 13 times last season, 70% of his minutes at left-back, and scored in the 8-0 rout of Salford. By May he was starting the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, a journey he summarises with typical understatement: “You go from 200 people watching to thousands and thousands. A big difference.”

Numbers underline his adaptability. In 2024-25 he has already made 36 starts: 74% at left-back, 13% on the left wing, 11% as a defensive midfielder and 2% in central midfield. Six goals, five assists, 87 tackles and an 89.2% passing accuracy reveal a footballer who has turned utility into an art form.

At 6ft 4in and just under 13 stone, O’Reilly fits Guardiola’s prototype for a modern multi-positional player. “As long as I’m playing, I’m happy,” he shrugs, brushing aside talk of personal accolades.

The boy from Collyhurst, tattooed with Manchester’s 0161 dialling code, grew up watching City from the stands. “Going to games, seeing them win finals – wanting to be in that position is very special,” he says. Family loyalty is split only by “one or two United fans, but they know not to have any banter or I’ll get mad.”

Sunday offers another chance to etch childhood dreams into silverware. Arsenal, nine points clear of City in the league, arrive with a fearsome set-piece record. “We need to prepare for it,” O’Reilly notes, referencing September’s 1-1 draw at the Emirates. “We were very good then.”

He refuses to cast the final as a title pointer – “We’re just going there to win” – yet admits glory at Wembley could tilt momentum before next month’s league reunion. Either way, Manchester City’s Mr Versatile will be somewhere on the pitch, and that, for O’Reilly, is all that matters.