Manchester City legend Mike Summerbee is convinced they'll soon have young UAE players as part of the club's academy.

Summerbee visited the UAE with the Premier League trophy.

"If they want to be like their heroes, they have to focus on their favourite players and say they want to be like that," he told The National.

"They can say: 'I want to be the first UAE boy to come out of the UAE and play in the Premier League'. What a great ambition that is. Imagine what that must be like, for a young boy from the UAE to go play in the Premier division."

Summerbee said the UAE was playing the right foundations for future success.

"One year, two or three UAE boys will come out of here and play in the [English] Premiership," he said. "This is what it's all about. It's everyone's ambition to be successful."