Pep Guardiola has not given up hope of keeping Eric Garcia at Manchester City beyond his current contract.
The Spanish defender was thought to be close to signing a new deal last season but was won over by former club Barcelona and informed the Blues when the players returned after the restart that he did not want to stay in Manchester.
City were open to selling him but never felt like they got the reasonable offer from Barcelona that they wanted in summer and opted to keep the 19-year-old for the final year of his contract instead.
With Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte ruled out, Garcia lined up alongside Ruben Dias for the Champions League game with Porto - ahead of John Stones and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who were on the bench.
Guardiola cited the stability of the player for why he picked Garcia over the others, and also raised hopes that he could yet tempt him to change his mind on a return to the Nou Camp.
"I'm so happy. I know he wanted to leave but he's going to stay and maybe we can seduce him in this year to extend the contract with us," said Guardiola. "He's a guy who is so stable in many many things and we are so happy."
Garcia could be in line for more games after Fernandinho joined the lengthy injury list for the Blues. Laporte is expected to return to training on Thursday but will be up against it to be fit for Saturday's trip to West Ham.
