Pep Guardiola identifies exceptional Man City youngster with potential to match Cole Palmer's level

Pep Guardiola has praised the remarkable talents of a Manchester City youngster, describing him as 'unique' and expressing confidence that he has the potential to emulate the success of Chelsea's Cole Palmer.

City got their season off to the perfect start with a penalty-shootout victory over arch-rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Alejandro Garnacho put the Red Devils ahead after 82 minutes before a late equaliser from Bernardo Silva sent the game straight to penalties.

The Portuguese then missed in the shootout to hand Erik ten Hag’s side the advantage, but Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans also failed from the spot and City got their hands on the trophy.

In a stop-start affair, it was City’s Oscar Bobb who stole the show, terrorising United’s defence and providing the assist for Silva’s late equaliser.

With Julian Alvarez departing for Atletico Madrid, the Norwegian could be set for far more minutes this season, especially after impressing in pre-season, and Guardiola was full of praise for the 21-year-old after his Wembley audition.

‘Oscar made a fantastic game like all of pre-season,’ Guardiola said at his post-match press conference.

‘He has something unique; be stopped then go, first one or two steps, right or left is unbelievable.

‘The goal, how he turns and makes the cross, huge quality. He has incredible values and work ethic. He has the ability to do it and he can do it more regularly.’

While City’s academy pipeline continues to churn out talent, not all have stayed in Manchester, with Brahim Diaz, Jadon Sancho and Cole Palmer just three of the high-profile names to forge a bright path away from the Etihad.

Bobb, for now, looks likely to stay at City and Guardiola is confident that he can one day reach the levels of the aforementioned Palmer, who enjoyed a sparkling maiden league campaign at Chelsea.

‘That would be great because Cole Palmer’s success at Chelsea last season was unbelievable,’ Guardiola replied when asked if Bobb could emulate Palmer’s achievements.

‘He was one of the best two or three players in the Premier League as well as his impact at the Euros.

‘That happened because Cole played every single game and I’m pretty sure if Oscar plays a lot of minutes he can do many, many good things – there’s no doubt about that.’

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