O’Reilly’s “unbelievable talent” was spotted at the age of six, according to Riley, who says he had a “great left foot”, was “good on the ball” as well as having “determination”.
Even at that young age, there were scouts from Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Blackburn Rovers watching him in action for Moston Tigers and Failsworth Dynamos.
O’Reilly was first recommended to Riley by local scout Joe Yates, who would keep in touch with the family about his progress.
Riley said: “It was so competitive in their younger days – it still is now at the moment – because all the top clubs in the North West want all the best boys, so it’s so hard.
“This is where you’ve got to work quite hard with the parents and work as a team at the club. When he has signed on to the under-nines, your job’s not done.
“You carry on keeping in touch with parents, the recruitment team take over, the physios get involved. It’s a massive job getting these boys through but it is all about teamwork.”
O’Reilly grew up in Collyhurst and lists Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho as players who he “loved watching”, while his City idols include Kevin de Bruyne, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Asked about his early days in football, O’Reilly told BBC Sport: “[We played] a bit of everywhere – on the grass, on the streets. We used to go to the little cage and play there.
“There used to be about 30 of us that used to go out and play and just have a good time. I was a good kid, I just love playing sports. I love being out doing activities.”