James McAtee has shown Pep Guardiola player he is a Man City player through and through

Pep Guardiola’s throwaway line about James McAtee after Manchester City’s win over Fulham was a telling indicator of where the 19-year-old Salfordian stands in his career.

Guardiola said after the game, when asked about his academy talents in general: “Look at McAtee today, he played exceptionally, he was moving in the right spots and every touch he made the action was better.”

For a manager who is always cautious about extolling the virtues of young players, urging patience and groundedness, at all times, it was quite a compliment.

And it’s not just the manager who is throwing out spontaneous bursts of praise for the highly-promising midfielder who has 14 goals and four assists in 15 Premier League 2 appearances this season.

Back in October, Joao Cancelo was invited by a TV interviewer to discuss the virtues of Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who had just made his Champions League mark by scoring a stunning goal at Club Brugge.

Cancelo duly trotted out his admiration of the two youngsters who had played, but then said,with no prompting: “Cole is a special player, I really like him, but I also like James McAtee, for example - he’s a great player.”

McAtee has clearly impressed the senior pros, and the fact that City signed him up for an extra three years last week proves they are convinced he has what it takes.

Now Guardiola is looking for the signs that he can translate his youthful talent into being a true City player, in the way Foden has done.

Foden was earmarked for Manchester City greatness almost from the first day he walked through the door at the club’s old Platt Lane academy complex.

It was clear early on that this tiny kid had a rare talent, one that shone even amongst the cream of the Greater Manchester