The teenager's man of the match display against United in the derby, coupled with his foot perfect start to life as a permanent central defender, rather than a right-back, has seen his value rocket.
A year ago anyone wanting to buy him would have had to stump up £15m but bidding would now start at £25m.
There is no argument that he is the most talented young defender in the country and there is little doubt either that sooner or later one of the elite European clubs will decide to test City's resolve to keep him.
Senior figures within the Blues' dressing room, including skipper Richard Dunne, have already made it publically clear that City must realise Richards' expectations of being at a club regularly competing in Europe.
To be fair the signs are already promising with Thaksin Shinawatra asking boss Sven-Goran Eriksson to sort out a new deal for the 19-year-old.
Once the transfer window has closed at the end of the month, Richards can expect to find himself up there with the best paid players at the club.
Along with Michael Johnson, Stevie Ireland, and the other bright young things (all 21-years-old or younger) Valeri Bojinov, Vedran Corluka, Gelson Fernandes and Javier Garrido bought by Eriksson during his orgy of summer spending, Richards will be the backbone of side that has been built to grow together and eventually win things.
Richards is already being touted as a rival to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the England defence and when he fully learns the position he will become a serious threat to those two who have a combined market value of around £60m.
It certainly has been a rocket ride to the top for Richards.
Impression
It was less than five years ago that Richards made the switch from Oldham Athletic's school of excellence to City's Academy and immediately made a name for himself not just as a defender but as a goalscorer.
He made his first team debut as a late substitute at Arsenal, the team he followed as a boy, in October 2005 as an emergency striker and went on to make an impression nationally with the Blues equalising goal and subsequent `fruity' live interview in an FA Cup tie at Aston Villa in February 2006.
Richards admits that his upbringing in Chapeltown, a rough area of Leeds, helped make sure that he is not fazed by much. He had a pretty strict upbringing by dad Lincoln, a Rastafarian, who has seen every minute of every game his son has played - apart from those few at Highbury when Micah made such an unexpected bow.
Richards is universally popular in the dressing room and has shown real signs of maturity since winning the first of his four England caps and becoming a regular in the Blues starting line-up.
He has already dealt with a lay-off after surgery to both calf muscles and come back even stronger and has also learned to shrug off the constant whispering about the perennial giants of the English game wanting to whisk him away from City.
Now an established member of the England set-up, he is clear that he sees his future, and a bright one at that, under Eriksson.
"I am treated like a proper first teamer at City and that is enough for me," he said.
"I feel that City is my club.
"I am only 19 but this is my third season and I almost feel like a senior player. There is a new era now at City and I want to be part of a team that wins a trophy."
Richards admits that he has a lot to learn but increasingly these days there is a more measured approach to the game that mirrors that of the new manager.
Like others in the dressing room, Richards has been struck by the calmness of Eriksson and his assistant Hans Backe.
"There are a lot of new faces and a lot of different languages in the dressing room but we have found a way to communicate," he went on.
"The manager is very chilled out, gets his point across without shouting and is always encouraging us. He speaks with authority."
Learning
That is something that Richards has started to do, too, and he reserves some of his most fulsome praise for the man from whom he is learning the art of the central defender - Richard Dunne.
"I have played in a defence with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand and though he is not in the media as much as those two, Richard is on a par with them," concluded Richards.
In turn, Dunne is convinced the sky is the limit for Richards.
"Micah is outstanding," he said.
"He gets better every game and there really is no limit to what he can do. Whoever comes up against him, whatever test he is set, he just blows them away.
"It is hard to remember he is only 19. At the moment I would say he is as good a centre-half as England have.
"In the last couple of years, he got his experience as a right-back," observed Dunne.
"Now he is playing centre-half and nobody can run past him or beat him in the air. He has just been outstanding in my opinion."
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Aw...Micah and Dunney monster love each other <3
Bless them.
CTID!
Yes, rio rubbish cost the rags 30 million and he's head and shoulders above him! So 30 million plus is correct. He won't make the same mistake as SWP and will give us time, as long as we progress. Which we will!!!
The future's bright, the future's City!
Welcome to the new dawn!!!...
Dist-who???? Its nice to see one of the best centre half partnerships developing at City!! I hope MR stays for the next few seasons, where he will become England captain and he'll hopefully win some Trophies!!
When Micah first started to get involved with the first team a few years ago i asked him who the best players were in the squad, who impressed him the most.With a dressing room that included people like Anelka, SWP, Fowler and even Joey Barton his first answer was Richard Dunne.
and they are both ours...
everton and oldham must be gutted... makes it even sweeter!
At last we have a player that will become a England regular ahead of Rio and we are not in the postion to have to sell him. Get him signed up on a long term contract and pay him what he deserves. Sorry I still wish we would have had Joey bossing midfield on saturday. Hamman was showing his age in the later stages.
"Come on City no more singa the Blues "
I don't care how much he is worth he only has a price if we decide to sell him and I hope that City resist any offer. The old phrase every player has his price well if people want to buy him never mind 25m which might be realistic double that to 50 m and keep away any possible offers. The last thing we want is players being unsettled by transfer aspeculation. The difference between this year and last is that we have become a buying club not a selling club. Thankyou Dr Frank
I was first taken to see City in the mid-1950s when the walloped United 5-0 in the cup. Micah is uncannily like Duncan Edwards, and even from a rabid City fan that's as great a compliment as I could pay a player. £30 million? Not for sale at any price!
Maybe Oldham should have taken our offer when they had the chance, because I think we're going to be watching Micah in a City shirt for many years to come. Awesome performance on Sunday, and what a partnership he & Dunny are forging already.
As I said yesterday and no doubt others have said on this thread we no loger have to be a selling club, Micah can fulfil all his ambitions with us now.
Micah has already excelled this season under Sven. Didn't think he was at his best last season under Pearce.... (scarey to think he is now under 21 manager!)
If City ever did feel the need to sellm Micah for say £30m, City would only see £22.5m before tax, as he has a 25% sell on clause to Oldham. When you see WBA asking £15m for Curtis Davies, £22.5m does not go far.
Micah cannot be sold! Sven should do what Barcelona did and say any club offering £54m can have him. That will put all would be suitors off and Micah can walk away on a bosman in a few years from now (joke)
its well known that players get tapped up while on international duties. so lets get him to sign a new contract, and have a clause in it where bidding starts at no less than £50 million. i dont think he would go to another club in the premiership. there not big enough for him.. if he goes anywhere in the future. it will be to real madrid. ar ac- milan. but i cant see that happening for a few years yet, ( depending on what city do in the league...
I've been trying to think of who Micah reminds me of as a defender. Now I've realised it is Cannavaro. Like him Micah is slightly smaller than most central defenders, but makes up for it by having a massive leap in the air. They are both shorter but stocky and built like the proverbial brick privy. And very difficult to beat one on one. The big plus is this: Micah is faster than Cannavaro. So what we have is a faster version of Cannavaro. He just needs more experience of reading the game. Not bad at all is it...
This is all speculation about something that might or might not happen sometime in the future. The club have said that they are going to give him a new contract at the end of August so hopefully that will be that for a few years anyway.
Let him enjoy his football in a team that hopefully matures and grows into a trophy winning team and lets see what happens.
Micah is awesome and it doesn't take long for the press to start trying to undermine his position at City - Think again boys times are a changin and we are no longer a selling club !!! Give him a 10 year contract with a buyout of £60m. PS Alfie ? Joey Barton bossing our midfield - Joey wouldn't fit in this team. Sven demands that players can pass a straight 5 yard pass - We would never have been able to have sung so many Ole's if Barton had been involved ! Joey was just simply part of our uncultured past !
Strike while the iron is hot...Come on Frank..another 23 million to cement our position at the top - Get Riquelme from under Spurs noses [11mill], either Defoe from the Spurs bench as the reality of his position bites or Elmander from Toulouse who are about to be out of Europe thx to the 'Pool [10mill] and Cudicini on the cheap from Chelski [2 mill?]
Get Sven to sweet talk them all and show them the league table!
Do NOT buy Anelka - a maverick who is selfish and is NOT a team player.
Don't relax - as Brutus said in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;"
Take the flood waters and lead us to fortune!
If Ferdinand and Terry are worth £60m between them, that means Terry is worth £50m or more since Ferdinand is one of the most overated defenders in the league. So, Micah must be worth £50m minimum since he's younger, faster, more versitile and less injury prone than Terry.
he wont go for a few years yet hopefully, but if or when he does i can see him becoming the first 100million pound player if he keeps on improving the way he has been. maybe we should do what the spanish do and put a mega buy out clause in his contract.
Typical MuEN article, turn a positive into a negative. "Micah is a wonderful talent so you'll struggle to keep him". You've finally pushed me over the edge and I will never read your rubbish again
Get a £30-50m buy-out clause in his next contract.
The only way he will go is if he wants to go. City are no longer a selling club and now we have the ambition to match micahs. CTID
MUEN you are pathetic...
why on earth even pose the question as to whether we can keep hold of him?
Still smiling to-day..........
Did anyone notice that line on Corrie last night from Leanne
talking about her financial situation " Oh God No - I'd be in as much Debt as the GLAZERS"..
Luv it
and the point of this article is.................?
Please let's have some real journalism.
No doubt in my mind, I don't think Sven wants to sell him if I am honest, and also get used to things rag induced press (MUEN) WE ARE NOT IN DEBT, it is the reds that are after selling their star players soon due to out of control spiraling debts.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will have to work to spot players of the talent of Micah themselves, united don't make me laugh that have no f*****g chance.