Manchester City’s links to China grew stronger this month as senior officials travelled to Guangzhou for filming of a new reality television series.
City are featuring in a show titled Football Mania, where tens of young players from the Far East are pitted against each other to form a new team.
Ex-defender Sun Jihai is involved in the X Factor-style project, which will eventually see the Chinese squad jet into the North West and face Lee Carsley’s Under 18s at the City Football Academy in March.
City will then fly over for the return fixture in July as they look to further enhance their standing in the country.