When Manchester City decided to soft-launch their Tunnel Club at the beginning of last season, they can't have expected Paul Pogba to turn up.
Yet as the club's EDS team kicked off against Chelsea, the world's most expensive midfielder was among the hundreds of spectators to witness the 0-0 draw - not on a scouting mission for Jose Mourinho or as an offering from Mino Raiola but to see 16-year-old Taylor Richards in action.
Richards, an attacking midfielder that joined the Blues in 2015 from Fulham, met the Old Trafford star when he was at Juventus through his agent and has been getting regular advice ever since, be it over text or across the dinner table.
"Paul's like my big brother up here, he always helps me," said Richards.
"He gives me advice on what to do and if I have a rubbish game then he tells me. He tells me if I need to run more but that's just Paul.
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"I feel like when I'm with him he gives me inspiration to go to the top and to be the best player I can be because I don't want to leave anything behind. I just want to be at the top and he shows its there for you if you want to get it."
There was a glimpse of the £89m mercurial quality in Richards' performance against Shakhtar in the UEFA Youth League game last week. With City trailing in a game they desperately needed to win, the midfielder jogged nonchalantly to retrieve a loose ball 30 yards out, took a touch as he turned and rifled the ball into the top corner.
Thankfully for City, there was less of the Frenchman's influence minutes later when Richards didn't need 22 steps to convert a penalty and put the young Blues into the lead they would not let slip. Having teased his mentor after that mess against Everton, the teenager knew what would be coming his way if he hadn't scored.
Richards is just happy to be on the pitch scoring goals. He quickly gained a reputation on joining the club and stood out enough to be picked to train with Pep Guardiola and the first team, but a knee injury saw him miss the majority of last season.
It was his first serious injury, and as well as preventing him from playing it made the midfielder think about what he hadn't been taking care of in his game. Now a year older and wiser, Richards is already seeing the benefits of a new approach.
"It was my first real injury. It was quite hard to take but with other people doing well you feel like you could push on yourself a bit," he said.
"It happens in the game. My family was there for me and my teammates and now I'm here on the pitch and I'm just trying to push on.
"I feel slightly different. I feel like I've added working way harder. Now I just don't want to leave anything on the pitch. I run until I feel like I can't run any more and that's what I've added to my game. Last time I wasn't really running but now I feel like I work much harder than I did before.
"To be honest I was a bit lazy. Now I feel like, since the injury, it wasn't a good place where I was. Now I just don't want to leave anything on the pitch, I want to go for it.
"I feel like I'm working a lot harder and things are coming off now that weren't coming off at the start of the season so I'm just trying to push on from there and just see where it takes me and keep working hard."
