Phil Foden caused quite a stir when he appeared for Manchester City against Manchester United last week.Pep Guardiola handed the 17-year-old a start in the Manchester derby played in Houston and the starlet impressed against the likes of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera.And his performance was so good that his Spanish manager was left speechless, despite the 2-0 defeat."I don’t have words – I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw,’ said the City manager. "You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy."It’s a long time since I saw something like this. His performance was another level. He’s 17-years-old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he’s a City fan and for us he’s a gift."He will stay with us training with us in the pre-season and maybe he’ll stay with us in season because he’s special."

But Foden certainly isn’t the only talented youngster at the Etihad Stadium.

In fact, in terms of their academy, they have surpassed rivals Manchester United in their ability to snap up the best young players from around Europe.

The likes of Pablo Maffeo, Brahim Diaz and Bersant Celina all appear to have extremely bright futures but, with Guardiola spending the millions this summer, they may struggle to play first-team football at the club.

Gary Neville's tweet about Phil Foden

That was the concern of Gary Neville after Foden’s virtuoso display against United.

He tweeted: “He's at the wrong Manchester club for getting a sustained opportunity. City have a lot of great kids. They should be playing…”

Guardiola hits back at Neville

But Guardiola has since hit back.

He asked Neville to explain himself while insisting that Foden has a long future at the club.

He responded by saying: "Which is the right club? It's a question to Gary Neville.

"My history is there. I'm not going to put young players in the squad because they are young. They will be in the squad because they have quality. I don't have problems with that.

"The club is working well in terms of the academy. There are many players with good prospects for the future. 

"We will be patient with those guys. They are going to train with us most, or part of, the season.

"Phil Foden is going to play in the next games. He has quality to play in that team. I'm so happy to have him. He's a Mancunian, a City fan, a humble guy. He's a fighter. He looks skinny but he's a strong guy."

Referring to Neville, he added: "I thought even the journalist in the summer time were on holidays but I realise he is not."

The season hasn’t even started yet and the two Manchester clubs are already taking shots at each other.