The 19-year-old defender has been included in City’s senior squad for their first pre-season trip of the summer to Scotland for some high intensity work ahead of the new campaign.
And the former England U19s left-back is enjoying the experience of training alongside the likes of Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo, Samir Nasri and Aleksandar Kolorov in St. Andrew’s.
Leigh lined-up with the England U19s to face Turkey in 2013
"When we returned for pre-season we were told to train with the first team and I found out I was in the party travelling to Scotland the day before we left," revealed Leigh.
"I was hoping I’d get a chance to be involved in Scotland and with so many of the players still being away after the World Cup, that’s what happened.
"The training schedule has been hard and was a shock to the system to begin with, if I’m totally honest.
"Three sessions a day hasn’t been easy and the senior lads have to work a lot harder than we do because of the level they play at and also because they are a lot bigger and stronger than we are at present.
"It’s been tough, but really good and you have to gear up for it and be ready. It’s helped me get to where I need to be fitness-wise a lot quicker."
Born in Sale, local lad Leigh has been with City’s academy since the age of eight and is a regular for the club’s youth and development teams, as well as earning five caps for England.
And he believes the next best step for him is to spend time away from the Etihad Stadium on loan to improve further and put himself in a position to impress Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini.
"Realistically, I think this season I’ll need to go out on loan and gain some first-team experience to develop my game further and then hopefully return and challenge for a place in the senior squad," he told mcfc.co.uk
"I’m just hoping to keep raining at this level for as long as possible and it would be fantastic to go on the second leg of pre-season to the USA but I’ll wait and see what happens."
