What Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk said about involving youngsters in Manchester City tie

The Owls boss hasn't been afraid to give players from the under-23s a taste of first team involvement this season and revealed he could do the same against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side at Hillsborough.

Nineteen-year-old defender Osaze Urhoghide was handed his first-team debut in the FA Cup third round win at Brighton and Hove Albion and Bulgarian forward Preslav Borukov, also 19, was an unused substitute in the victory over Queens Park Rangers in the following round.

The likes of Alex Hunt and Ben Hughes have also been named in first team squads this season, with the former coming on for Sam Hutchinson in the QPR game last month.

Hutchinson hasn’t made an appearance for the club since.

And speaking to the media before Wednesday’s glamour tie with City, Monk confirmed the youngsters on the fringes of the first-team squad could feature.

“Obviously those guys have trained with us a lot and yes they are up for selection,” said the 40-year-old Owls boss.

“They’ve been involved for most of the season in the squad or out of the squad, some playing, some not, whoever it is.

“I’ve told you from the start when I came in here, if there’s young players in the academy I’ll always try and find that pathway.

“It’s not been as straightforward and as easy as that since I’ve come in here, but I’m trying to show that there will be that way and going forward it's the most important bit.

"I’ve always tried to do that at every club I have been at. It’s great to have those guys with us. A lot of them are doing very well and we’ll see tomorrow in terms of involvement and we’ll go from there.”

Urhoghide was given an extended run in the first-team squad after the win at Brighton but has not figured in recent weeks following his sending-off in the 3-0 home defeat against Reading last month, for which he received a one-match suspension.