Manchester City starlet Phil Foden has been urged to stay at the club and trust in Pep Guardiola's plans for him by former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy.
Foden is considered one of City's brightest prospects but has struggled to break into the first-team this season given the abundance of talent at Guardiola's disposal.
The England U21 international has played just 11 minutes so far this season leading to some speculation that he could follow in Jadon Sancho's footsteps in leaving the club for first-team football.
A loan move has also been mooted but Murphy feels Foden would aid his development by staying at the club rather than a temporary spell away.
"He is a special, special player and in his case, I’d suggest the best thing would be to stay close to Pep Guardiola because I believe the City manager has a clear plan," Murphy wrote for the Mail Online.
"In the short term, it seems hard. But looking at the bigger picture, I can see Foden becoming the stand-out player of his generation."
Murphy believes that Foden will be the long term replacement for David Silva in the City starting XI.
He added: "I think in 12 months time he may be a permanent fixture in the City starting line-up because I think they will trust in him rather than splash out £70million looking for a replacement for David Silva, who is in his final season.
"I’m sure Guardiola is talking to Foden about the future and I think the player should trust his manager, even if it means missing Euro 2020.
"It’s his misfortune that getting into City’s midfield is probably the toughest job in football now, but Silva will go and Foden will come in, I believe."
The former England international stated that should Foden still not get game time by next September, then he should consider leaving.
"If by next September he’s still not getting games, a rethink may be called for, but not now. I believe if he were at other Big Six clubs, he’d already be a regular, it is just the competition at City is so fierce and requires a little more patience," he said.
