Manchester Evening News

STOKE V CITY

- Simon.bajkowski@trinitymir­ror.com @spbajko

CITY cannot ask for any more from David Silva as he continue to juggle football with his personal life.

It has been a tough few months for the Spanish star after his son was born prematurel­y around the turn of the year.

With Pep Guardiola obviously happy for family to come first, Silva has divided his time between Valencia and Manchester.

And it is testament to both the character and ability of City’s playmaker that it continues to look like he plays without a care in the world.

Chelsea were the latest victims as the 32-year-old produced another man-of-the-match performanc­e last week, and he should be available to give Stoke the same treatment. The player Arsenal rejected for not being physically strong enough and United for not doing enough defensivel­y remains the man Guardiola turns to when his team need something special.

“He’s got a lot of technical skills in a complicate­d league with the physicalit­y, the weather conditions, the pitches, and he has survived to be one of the best players in England for a decade,” said Guardiola.

“We are so happy to have him to extend his contract. It means a lot. He is a huge competitor. He is shy, he doesn’t speak too much but on the pitch when the moment is there and the game is on he is the guy who never hides in tough conditions when the game is not going well.

“He makes a step forward and that is so important.”

Silva is expected to skip the training break in Abu Dhabi to spend more time with his family following the trip to the Potteries tonight. However, he has been training on his own to ensure he has the sharpness to be able to slot straight back into the team when they need him. “We’ve said many times family is the most important thing,” said Guardiola. “He wants to be here but sometimes he needs to come back and see his son and wife, who are doing well. He has to go there. “Of course, he knows he has to train because you cannot play well if you don’t train for a long time. “He trains on his own in Valencia when he goes there and, of course, in the game against Basel he decided to go to Valencia. “He came back and trained on Thursday, he will be ready to play against Stoke City and after that when we will go to Abu Dhabi he will stay in Spain. “What has happened has happened. “His family and son are the most important thing. “Hopefully he can sort it as soon as possible, his lovely kid can grow and grow, and he can stay with us all day.” Pep Guardiola on David Silva

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