Manchester City academy boss Jim Cassell says there's several of his current squad capable of making the Premiership grade.
"A lot will depend on their continued progress, but I know that Mark Hughes is keen," Cassell told City's website.
"Sometimes you are begging a manager to take them across, but Mark wants them as soon as they are ready. His attitude is: send them across as early as you can, and we do.
"Our job is to support what Mark does at first-team level. But not only do we produce players for our own club, it's important that if boys are a fraction short of the level we hope they achieve, we find them a place in the game.
"We do try to bring them up to play in the style we want. The great thing about the new ownership is that we'll be able to look more deeply at ourselves and maybe we can better our methods of developing young talent.
"This club has a great future and the boys at our Academy have a great future. The question I ask them now is: Can you play with the best in the world? Because you are probably going to get the opportunity."