...AND YOUTH POLICY ENSURES A HUGE FUTURE

PEP GUARDIOLA’S young guns can fire Manchester City to sustained success, according to Kevin De Bruyne.

City’s recruitment policy over Guardiola’s two years in charge has seen them reduce the age profile of the squad, with the average age of the team now down to 23.5.

And De Bruyne said the strategic policy of investing in young talent like Ederson, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus had paid off and enabled City to build for long-term success.

“Of course, the club has planned for this (with the recruitment of young players),” said De Bruyne. “It’s no coincidence that the players brought in over the last year or two have all been of a similar age and we’ll look to build as a group together.

“There’s work to do if we want to achieve more in the future.

“That can be the trickiest thing, to not only win but to keep on winning.

“Having such a young squad will hopefully help us to achieve that.”