Man City path for Pep Guardiola's 'next Phil Foden' is clear after triple transfer failure

Manchester City may be dominating on the pitch at present, but you can be sure that behind the scenes they are planning for the future.

Pep Guardiola's side sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League and have the Champions League knockout stages to look forward to.

However, with a number of key players into the final 18-months of their contracts, now is the time to start looking two steps ahead.

The promotion of academy talents to the first team is one way to do that, as evidenced by the rise of Phil Foden and Cole Palmer. Yet when it comes to City's youngsters, there is still a debate over the best path they can take.

Right now, James McAtee finds himself at the centre of this.

The 19-year-old midfielder is reportedly keen to leave the club on loan before deadline day in order to gain more first-team minutes, but City and Guardiola in particular are reluctant to let him do so.

According to The Athletic, Guardiola has told McAtee that he wants him to stay at the club and follow the blueprint laid out by Foden.

Plenty of clubs were after Foden when he started appearing in Guardiola's squad in 2018, with numerous pundits urging the club to let him go on loan.

But Guardiola was convinced that Foden should stay and it turned out to be the right decision. Gradually, he started seeing more minutes at the top level, all the while training with the first-team squad and learning the ins and outs of Pep's systems and tactics. He learned more than he ever would have done out on loan and is now one of City and England's best players.

Yet, if McAtee signs a new contract, City might have to meet him halfway and let him experience life elsewhere on loan for the next stage of his development. Rangers, Swansea and Girona are