Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is fearful Brahim Diaz will leave the club.
The 19-year-old joined City from Malaga in 2016 and has made 14 first-team appearances for the Citizens.
Diaz will see his current deal with the Premier League champions expire in June 2019, and it is understood that the Spaniard is eyeing a move to Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Guardiola has said that City are desperate to keep hold of Diaz, but the choice will ultimately be made by the attacker.
"We want him, but, at the end it does not depend on us - it is the desire of him. We insist we want him, but agent, him and family decides. There is no change of opinion now because he scored two goals or because he was not selected for any Premier League games," Guardiola told reporters.
"The opinion of us is so high, but in the top teams like here in compete with Leroy [Sane], Bernardo [Silva], Sergio [Aguero] it is not easy to find a space. He knew that from the beginning. If he decides to stay, we are delighted to be with him and we will do absolutely everything to keep him with us, but after that he decides. It's simple.
"He knows the desire that we want for all young players. They know how we want to protect them. We know how we try to help him to understand in a particular way we want to play, for the young players in the academy."
Diaz scored twice in City's 2-0 win over Fulham in the EFL Cup on Thursday night.
Matt Law
