An England left-back from Long Island, New York? It seems unlikely, but it could happen. Born in Basildon and raised in New York since the age of three, new Manchester City signing Christian McFarlane has already made regular appearances for the England youth teams from Under-16s to Under-18s and is very much part of the England youth national team pipeline.

McFarlane developed partially in the youth academy of New York City FC in Major League Soccer, where he attracted interest from English Premier League clubs as well as teams in continental Europe. He chose to stay within the City Football Group, joining Manchester City in the 2025 January transfer window having just turned 18. It’s a move which further attaches him to the England setup and automatically raises his profile.

Last year, while making his initial appearances with the NYC FC first team, McFarlane was featured on the Guardian’s Next Generation 2024 which listed 60 of the most promising young players in world soccer.

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NYC FC can take a lot of credit for McFarlane’s rise. The MLS team and the city itself have played roles in a development pathway that has taken him from youth soccer on Long Island to one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I think he’ll surprise people,” says NYC FC sporting director David Lee. “He’s been training with a senior men’s team since he was 15 and 16 years old. There are not many, even 17 or 18-year-olds, for whom that has been their daily environment. He’s been able to take every next step we’ve thrown at him and I’m sure he’ll be able to do that again with whatever his pathway looks like in Manchester.”

McFarlane joined NYC FC aged 11 and in the U-12 team played every position except goalkeeper. He regularly played years above his age group when coming through the ranks, and it didn’t take long for him to become earmarked for a first-team role as a left-back, signing a homegrown professional deal aged just 14.

“His ability to adapt to the level, whatever the age group, set him apart,” said NYC FC second-team coach Matt Pilkington when McFarlane’s move to Manchester was announced. “Regardless of his age, regardless of who he was training or playing with, he would adapt to the level of play.”

Before making his first appearances in MLS in 2024, McFarlane played for NYC FC’s second team in MLS Next Pro – a USSF Division III-sanctioned league, and a professional environment meant to help young players get used to senior football.

“I think [the creation of] Next Pro has been a really good development,” adds Lee, who has worked at NYC FC since 2014 and has witnessed McFarlane’s rise through the ranks. “I don’t think Christian would be a first-team player without the opportunities Next Pro offered. You need those minutes and those professional opportunities at the right age to be able to challenge you, and I think he got that.”

McFarlane joins the likes of James Sands, Gio Reyna and Joe Scally as a former NYC FC academy player to have made the move to one of Europe’s top leagues. He’ll initially join Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, and how much first-team action he gets remains to be seen, but the move gets him closer to the England youth setup and a pathway to a senior national team that is lacking reliable left-back options.

But even if a place with the Three Lions doesn’t come to fruition, McFarlane has options: he is eligible for Jamaica as well as the United States. There would be some precedence for a switch to the latter; Another English-born US dual national left-back, Antonee Robinson, is now a standout for the United States national team and Fulham in the Premier League. For now, though, England is his home as well as his choice of national team.

NYC FC now face the task of replacing McFarlane as well as Sands, who also departed in MLS’s primary transfer window. The team’s best attacker, Santi Rodriguez, could also be on the way out soon with a rumored move to Brazil’s Botafogo. A new league rule that allows MLS teams to make cash for player trades could help with the rebuilding effort.

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“I think it’s a great development,” Lee said when speaking about the rule change during his preseason press conference. “There were a group of players that were completely unobtainable to move inside MLS because you could only trade your allocation money, and every team has a limited pot of allocation money. Now you can open the door to recruit from inside MLS.

“Being able to use cash for those players opens up the possibility for DP [Designated Player] investment and acquiring DPs from other MLS teams, but I also think it opens up possibilities for players within the salary cap. We’ll certainly explore it and we’re certainly looking at it to see if there’s a right fit within the league.”