Pep Guardiola confirms imminent signing Sergio Gomez will STAY with Manchester City first-team

Sergio Gomez will remain with Manchester City, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

Manchester City, who are on the verge of signing Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez, will keep the 21 year-old at the Etihad Stadium for the 2022/23 campaign, according to Pep Guardiola.

Gomez is in the North West and is expected to complete an initial £11 million move away from the Belgian club imminently.

The 21 year-old spent the previous campaign under the management of former City captain Vincent Kompany, where the Spanish full-back featured in 49 matches.

Gomez was directly involved in 22 goals for the Brussels-based club last season, as Anderlecht achieved a third place finish.

Speaking on Friday, ahead of Manchester City's Premier League clash with newly promoted Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola revealed that the 21 year-old would remain with the Sky Blues, despite talk of possibly being sent out on loan.

"He's for now, he will stay with us, the squad, alongside Joao [Cancelo], Josh [Wilson-Esbrand] and him for the left-backs, he'll stay with us," said the City boss.

Guardiola was also full of praise for the young defender, highlighting the left-backs talent and potential: "You know the club is always working on many possibilities in many positions," said Guardiola.

"This one target is a young player, in the U17 World Cup years ago the best player was Foden and he was the second best player. He played in Spain U21, young talent for Barcelona, went to Dortmund, played in good hands under Kompany [at Anderlecht]. He played well, we target him to bring him here."

City had been pursuing the signature of Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, but a deal failed to materialise due to the Seagull's asking price for the Catalan defender.

Cucurella has since completed a £62 million move to Chelsea, following an impressive maiden season in English football.

The Premier League Champions also saw makeshift left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko move to top six rivals Arsenal for £30 million, with the Ukrainian ending a six-year stay at the Etihad Stadium to reunite with Mikel Arteta and forward Gabriel Jesus.

The signing of Gomez could rise to £16.9 million according to Paul Hirst, with a 15% sell-on clause also existing within the 21 year-olds contract.

Irrespective of Gomez's arrival, City could still target a more senior left-back during the remaining weeks of the window.

Raphael Guerreiro, Borna Sosa and Atletico Madrid's Renan Lodi have all been mooted.

Joao Cancelo had started at left-back for the Blues on Sunday, as they beat West Ham 2-0 at the London Stadium.