Lakyle Samuel has been surrounded by professional football for all of his life.
His dad, J-Lloyd, had a successful Premier League career at Aston Villa and Bolton and Lakyle was introduced into the Manchester City academy as early as he could be as an Under-9. The coaching he received as a young defender has been mixed with watching Youtube videos of his dad to chart Samuel’s path towards becoming a professional football in his own right.Carvajal talks Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Kroos, Yamal, Perez, Real Madrid future
The 18-year-old’s influences now include Pep Guardiola, John Stones and Rico Lewis as he looks to make a name for himself. His inclusion in the senior squad for the pre-season tour this summer was a reward for the progress he has made, and is intended to kick him on again.
“My dad played and when I was young I was straight away involved with it. I was obsessed with it and had all the Match Attax [player cards],” he told the Manchester Evening News. “Obviously, with my dad’s influence in football it helped me to understand it a lot more. He helped me to understand the basics and since then I have taken myself with it.
“He was a great inspiration to me growing up. I didn’t watch much of him – I don’t remember any games of him. I’ve gone back and watched things about him and I’ve gone back and watched him on YouTube.
“He was a very aggressive player and I feel like it will help to watch clips of him and how he played. But I want to learn myself. I don’t want to be under him, I want to push myself to be my own person.”
Samuel only has memories of his dad after he was tragically killed in a car accident in 2018. It was horrible for all of the family to deal with, although a testament to their strength that they helped each other to it.
As much as his dad remains a major motivation, the young defender has been helped along by his mum and siblings. City’s standards have risen over the ten years that Samuel has been in the academy and, encouraged by those closest to him, he has risen to meet every challenge.
“They’ve helped massively. Obviously, through the good times and the bad times. My mum, she’s probably my best friend. She has helped me a lot.
“My brother and sister as well – we’ve all been involved in the football set-up since a young age. My mum has been through it all and they understand what it takes to get there as they’ve seen it with my dad. I’m just trying to make them proud.”
Samuel has made three appearances already for the Under-21s this season and is open to going out on loan in the second half of the campaign to get some senior experience. The defender already feels a better player for having been coached by Guardiola on the summer tour in a three-week period that also saw him come off the bench in a friendly.
“He was amazing, honestly. He has helped me to improve on my defensive actions and my body shape and how to read the game better.
“He has even helped off the pitch, trying to enjoy myself. Before I came on he was saying to just enjoy myself.
“Because you see him on TV and he’s so energetic, but when you’re with him he’s a really nice guy. When he said I was coming on I was like ‘it’s happening’. When he was speaking to me I was thinking ‘no mistakes, just perform’.
“There’s no need to do anything extra. If you keep it simple then you’ll always come out on top. There’s no reason to do extravagant stuff or anything you don’t really do. He just tells you to be yourself.”
