Phil Foden shows Man City approach is right after Jayden Braaf transfer

The departure of Jayden Braaf for Borussia Dortmund will no-doubt be painted as another failure of Manchester City's youth system.

Those looking from the outside will see a young, hungry teenager taking a bold step for the good of his career, cutting lose from a relentless winning machine that would have kept him on the bench and squandered his talent.

Part of that is true - Braaf, a 19-year-old attacker who arrived at City from PSV Eindhoven aged 16, is desperate for regular first team football. There is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Critics of City's approach to youth development will compare his situation to that of Jadon Sancho - the Manchester United winger left City for Dortmund in similar circumstances in 2017, eager for more minutes and a higher wage.

The two cases differ slightly in that City were desperate to keep Sancho but happy to let Braaf go - as MEN Sport has reported, there have long been concerns within the club regarding Braaf's attitude and training discipline.

Sancho opted to make the move to Germany for more minutes and more money, after City had refused to up his wage to a level on par with first-team regulars. At Dortmund he was a sensation, showing City just what they could have had.

But regardless of how Sancho turned out, and how Braaf might develop, in their handling of both cases City have set a clear precedent that will serve the club and their other youngsters well.

At the time of both Sancho and Braaf leaving City, both were largely unproven at the top level. Sancho had impressed for the EDS in 2016/17, but was omitted from Pep Guardiola's pre-season squad in the summer of 2017 over a contract dispute.

Braaf - after falling out with EDS coach Francesco Maresca after being left out