Gary Neville heaped praise on Manchester City's academy setup - including reported Liverpool transfer target James McAtee.
City cruised to a 3-0 win over Everton in the Premier League at the Etihad on Sunday, even without key players like Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish.
Those absentees opened up the door for Cole Palmer to start alongside fellow City academy graduate Phil Foden.
Palmer was bright throughout and was eventually replaced by McAtee in the 87th minute of the contest for his Premier League debut.
Although the youngster didn't have time to influence the game, he has been impressing in the City academy and is reportedly attracting the interest of some of the biggest clubs in European football.
According to the Daily Mail , Liverpool are one of a number of clubs keeping an eye on McAtee's situation.
The 19-year-old's contract at the Etihad Stadium is set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season.
In addition to the Reds, the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, Ajax and Atletico Madrid are also reportedly 'interested' in McAtee, who has previously been dubbed the 'Salford Silva'.
While a comparison to City icon David Silva is high praise for a player still in the nascent stages of his football career, Neville made a similar remark when McAtee entered the action against Everton.
"It’s not an academy, it’s a cloning system," he said on the Sky Sports broadcast. "They're like clones, they’re all the same. It’s almost like David Silva’s left them all behind!"
McAtee will face stiff competition for places in the City team, although he will be encouraged by the way in which Palmer and especially Foden have kicked on from youth football.
At Liverpool the competition would be equally fierce but it could be a savvy piece of business from to take an academy crown jewel away from one of their major rivals.
