Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan may be set for a long spell on the sidelines but he’s still delighted with the time he has already had working under Pep Guardiola.

The Germany midfielder suffered a knee injury in last week’s victory over Watford but after signing in the summer, he insists Guardiola is a special coach.

As reported by ESPN, he said: “Both are world-class coaches with their own qualities and both are passionate, even if it’s in different ways.

“Pep thinks about every different situation and has solutions for them. There is no coach like him.

“He has great charisma. Everybody who knows him sees that his football was always dominant and he had success every time.”

Elsewhere, after City’s U18s ended an incredible 2016 with a 5-2 victory over Stoke City yesterday, head of academy coaching Jason Wilcox praised the set-up.

Speaking to the Daily Express, he said: “We are not just looking for players good enough for the Premier League. We want to produce players good enough to win us the Champions League.

“We have got to try to help the first team by producing players who have the ability and temperament to play in front of 70,000 people and make mistakes. They also need the physical strength to play on Saturday, Tuesday and Saturday.

“So if the young players don’t want that sort of pressure and accountability, they need to go and work somewhere else. Manchester City is not the place for them.

“I have got no doubts that we are producing players who are capable of playing in our first team. No doubt about that - I have full confidence.”

With January fast approaching, there are a swirl of rumours linking Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk with City.

Daily Mail are the source that believe City are chasing van Dijk, as Sami Mokbel writes: “Manchester City are planning a £50million swoop for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.

“Van Dijk, 25, is aware of City’s interest and would find it difficult to resist the lure of Champions League football.”

That’s all for this morning’s media round-up! Stick with mancity.com throughout the day!