Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to compare Phil Foden with former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta following his side's EFL Cup win over Oxford United.
Foden produced a man-of-the-match display as City ran out 3-0 winners at the Kassam Stadium, with the 18-year-old playing a part in all three goals including scoring the first of his senior career to wrap up the victory.
Oxford boss Karl Robinson compared the youngster to World Cup winner Iniesta after the match and, while Guardiola stopped short of heaping so much praise on the City midfielder, he did reveal that he has high hopes for Foden over the next 10 years.
"The way he celebrated his first goal was like the final off the World Cup and that is because he is a City fan. My dream is for him to stay 10 years and if Phil stays for 10 years, he can - in the next decade - play regularly and after I don't know what is going to happen with him," Guardiola told reporters.
"[The Iniesta comparisons] are big, big words. I have said many times we are delighted with Phil. I am not going to say he is going to become Andres Iniesta because it puts pressure on him, Iniesta is by far one of the best players I ever saw in my life so we cannot put the pressure on Phil.
"But he has the quality to stay here for 10 years because I think he wants to stay, I think the club wants him to. But step by step, he needs to play regularly, but I think he has all the skills to play with us."
Foden's appearance this evening was only the 14th of his senior career.
Barney Corkhill
