MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Scott Carson is set to sign a new deal taking him past his 39th birthday, Rico Lewis is facing a club vs country dilemma next summer - and a special trophy parade visits young fan

Scott Carson is set to extend his stay at Manchester City by signing a new one-year contract.

A hugely popular member of Pep Guardiola’s squad, the 38-year-old acts as understudy to Ederson and Stefan Ortega.

Carson is seen as somebody who can push the pair of them in training and has become an integral member of the dressing room across his five years at the Etihad Stadium.

The veteran has featured twice under Guardiola – the first a 4-3 victory at Newcastle in 2021 and the second a 17-minute appearance from the bench in the Champions League against Sporting.

Carson’s influence goes beyond that, forging close relationships with Ederson and Ortega, who have both spoken glowingly about the former England stopper.

Guardiola has told players that they are better off absorbing wisdom from Carson than their manager, likening him to ‘an old actor’.

And it’s a role that Carson takes seriously. ‘I’m the third-choice goalkeeper, I think it’s half of my job role to help the lads if they need anything,’ he has said.

‘The other two lads are playing a lot more games than me and could be called upon at any time so if they want me to do a bit of shooting or crossing I am there to help them.

‘If that means I’m there longer, it’s not a massive thing to do. That’s part of my role to be there to do that.’

Alumni help for City kids

City’s Under 18s won the FA Youth Cup earlier this month, and the academy continues to flourish, but there is an acceptance that not everybody will forge a path in the professional game.

Youngsters who have been at the City Football Academy beyond the age of 16 are able to access an alumni programme, ‘Extra Time’, developed over the course of a number of years by the club.

Ex-City players are able to access a portal for guidance on a variety of topics, including careers and wellbeing. A number have taken the opportunity to speak with careers advisors through the programme.

And some, inside and outside the scheme, have been back at City doing some work. Former midfielder Charlie Oliver – now 26 and with FC United in the Northern Premier League – is coaching the younger age groups. Henri Ogunby, a 23-year-old at Ramsbottom United, has also coached at City.

Goalkeeper Curtis Anderson – an Under-17 World Cup winner with England in the team that included Phil Foden – was also seen at academy sessions earlier in the season.

City hoping for playoff windfall

On the subject of academy products, City’s interest at Wembley goes beyond Saturday’s FA Cup final with Manchester United. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, the Stockport-born centre half, has been on loan at Southampton all season and could secure promotion to the Premier League on Sunday.

Saints take on Leeds United in the Championship playoff final and a positive result would mean Harwood-Bellis’ second promotion to the top flight in two seasons after last year’s success on loan at Burnley.

There is also a financial element to the day, with Saints obligated to purchase the England Under-21 captain on a permanent basis for £20million should they go up.

If they don’t, it is expected that Harwood-Bellis will make the leap to the Premier League this summer regardless. He has one year remaining on his deal.

Dilemma looms for Lewis

This potential issue might be a year away yet but Gareth Southgate announcing his European Championship squad earlier in the week brought to mind the possibility of a club versus country conflict surrounding Rico Lewis in 2025.

Lewis, who has bounced between Southgate’s seniors and Lee Carsley’s Under 21s this term, was not named in the long list for the summer Euros.

And if he does continue as an Under-21 international next season, it presents a logistical puzzle for both City and England.

Guardiola’s side are heading to America for the expanded 32-team Club World Cup in mid-June, a competition that kicks off three days after the Under-21 Euros in Slovakia.

Even with his agility, Lewis clearly can’t be in two places at the same time.

Trophy tour before parade

The Premier League trophy has done some miles this week – and offered a bit of cheer around Manchester ahead of Sunday’s parade through the city centre.

City took their silverware to the house of five-year-old fan Mirabelle-Mae, who suffers from Spina Bifida – when a baby’s spine doesn’t fully develop in the womb.

The youngster was surprised with a visit in the lead up to her eighth operation and also went to the 5-1 victory over Luton Town as a special guest. The family, who went to the win against West Ham on the final day, were celebrating four in a row with a garden party – dog Sergio in tow – when the trophy made its way through the house.

City in the Community then whisked it off to the opening of a new project at Southern Cross School, Nedum Onuoha cutting the ribbon to a regenerated multi-sports pitch, before then turning up at the charity’s One City disability programme.

West is best?

If you’re into omens, then we’ve looked at City’s record at Wembley at both ends of the stadium with the help of StatCity on X.

City are on the west side of the stadium for Saturday’s cup final, the ‘home’ end and where they were placed for last year’s 2-1 win over United. And it was also their territory for the 2011 semi-final, the day when the landscape of Manchester football changed.

So that is the good news for City supporters. The bad, and quite surprising bit, is that their record when fans are in the east is actually better – winning seven of their 11 fixtures when placed over that way, compared to eight from 14 on the west.

Cryptic Ederson

It wasn’t immediately obvious why but Flashscore have been looking at the amount of Instagram followers each City star boasts and have surmised that Ederson’s count has shot up the most over the last 30 days.

The Brazilian has added almost 400,000 new followers to his five million on the social media platform, still trailing Erling Haaland by a mere 33 million.

Flashscore ‘analysed the Instagram profiles of each of the squad players after their most recent Premier League title win’. By analyse, they checked on the follower count twice – a month apart.

And while that is all well and good but in Ederson’s case, the increase in interest might actually have more to do with cryptic posts that provoke speculation over his future than picking up another medal.

Saudi clubs are said to be looking at the goalkeeper, who posted after the win at Tottenham – in which he fractured an eye socket – that ‘no one understands but me’.

Ortega has been hot on his heels this term and an interesting summer lies ahead in the goalkeeping department.