Pep Guardiola blown away by "special" performance of youngster Phil Foden

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed youngster Phil Foden, claiming that his performance against Manchester United "was on another level".

The 17-year-old was given a chance to shine in the Citizens' first outing on their pre-season tour of the United States, playing 74 minutes of the 2-0 defeat in Houston.

Foden was City's star performer on the night, proving a real nuisance in attack but failing to find a breakthrough goal, and Guardiola has suggested that the playmaker will now continue to train with the first team.

"I don't have words - I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw," he told reporters. "You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy.

"It's a long time since I saw something like this. His performance was another level. He's 17-years-old, he's a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he's a City fan and for us he's a gift.

"He will stay with us training with us in the pre-season and maybe he'll stay with us in season because he's special."

Foden has been at City since Under-9s level, becoming the third-youngest player in the club's history to be named in the senior matchday squad when he was among the subs for last season's meeting with Celtic.