Manu’s maturing nicely out on loan
MANU Garcia has revealed Pep Guardiola told him to ‘mature as a player’ when he sent him out on loan.
The playmaker joined fellow academy graduates Ashley SmithBrown, Brandon Barker, James Horsfield and Thomas Agyepong at NAC Breda in January.
Thriving in the No.10 role, the 19-year-old has played an important role in Breda’s promotion push as they look to get back into the Eredivisie.
And, having spent the first half of the season on loan at Alaves, Garcia hopes he can still break into the City first team under Guardiola.
“The first point of loan is to show the gaffer you can play at a high level and show yourself at a competitive level, not just under-23s,” he told ITV Sport.
“The aim for all of us is to try to go back to Manchester and make it in the first team.
“I did pre-season with him and got a few training sessions with him.
“He told me to go out and play and try to improve my game, mature as a player and think that’s what I’m doing at the moment and getting better every day.”
Garcia made his senior debut for City in the 4-1 win over Southampton in the League Cup in 2015.
The Spaniard went on to make three further appearances under Manuel Pellegrini before signing a new long-term contract with the club.
Garcia has three years to run on his current deal at the Etihad.