Jason Wilcox, City's Under-18s coach since 2013, admits the Londoners are still the 'benchmark' in terms of youth football, but believes his side is making up ground.
Manchester City youth team manager Jason Wilcox believes his side is on its way to emulating Chelsea's dominance at academy level.
The two sides meet in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final on Friday, with City looking to make amends for the 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Londoners in last year's final.
Chelsea has won three of the last four Youth Cups and on Monday became the first team to win back-to-back UEFA Youth League titles.