What Txiki Begiristain told Pep Guardiola about Oscar Bobb as Man City offset Cole Palmer exit

Pep Guardiola said that Manchester City have a player for many years - if they can keep Oscar Bobb happier than they kept Cole Palmer.

Palmer was the talk of the Premier League as City fans were making their way up to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon as he scored his ninth goal of the season to add to his growing reputation since a £42m move from the Etihad to Chelsea. By full-time at St James' Park, Oscar Bobb had introduced himself to the top flight with a stunning late winner after the champions had trailed with under 20 minutes to go.

Bobb came onto Guardiola's radar at the end of last season when he was pointed out as a talent by sporting director Txiki Begiristain. The youngster impressed with every opportunity he got and, helped by the departures of Riyad Mahrez, Palmer, and James McAtee, he has established himself as a credible option to the Treble winners despite only making his senior debut in this campaign.

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Guardiola has thrown Bobb in at the deep end on a number of occasions, when the game was in the balance at Wolves, Aston Villa and then Newcastle in the Premier League so far. The reward at St James' Park was glorious, and while the manager knew Bobb's academy background would help his mentality he was also reassured by the reaction of the rest of the squad on tour.

"At the end of the season Txiki said to me that Oscar Bobb was the best player by far. I said ok, go to Japan and start to train with us," said Guardiola.

"Immediately, Oscar got something that is the most important thing: the reliance of his teammates. That's more important than