With Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi making their mark on the senior international stage with England, Rio Ferdinand wants to see Phil Foden and Reiss Nelson become the next to break through. The Three Lions are displaying commendable faith in youngsters after seeing their youth teams star over recent years. World Cup triumphs have been enjoyed at U17 and U20 level, with key men from those successful sides now forcing their way into Gareth Southgate’s plans. Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho and Chelsea forward Hudson-Odoi have brought exciting skill sets to the England fold, while 20-year-old midfielder Declan Rice made his bow in a 5-0 Euro 2020 qualification win over the Czech Republic. Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Ben Chilwell are all 22 years of age or younger and part of Southgate’s future plans. There is also the promise of more potential pushing its way into the reckoning, with Manchester City academy graduate Foden and Arsenal starlet Nelson among those staking serious claims to selections. Former England defender Ferdinand wants to see talent such as that recognised in the near future, telling The Sun: “As well as Hudson-Odoi and Sancho, I want to see Phil Foden play. "Everyone’s talking about him. Same with Reiss Nelson.” Foden is seeing regular football at Premier League champions City this season, while Nelson has impressed during a loan spell at Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. Both men are being tipped for big things, with Foden figuring prominently in the Goal NxGn list of the finest young talent on the planet. Their potential is expected to be unlocked by club and country, with England in the fortunate position of boasting considerable strength in depth. Ferdinand admits these are exciting times for the Three Lions, with the class of 2019 considered to be the most promising that a success-starved nation have had to work with in some time. “Yeah, because of the youngsters,” Ferdinand added when asked if the future is bright. “Southgate gets it, the excitement and pride it gives to fans to see young players in their team. "There’s huge potential there.” England will be back in action on Monday when they take in a trip to Montenegro. After that qualifier has been completed, attention can then switch to the pursuit of silverware. Southgate’s side have reached the semi-finals of the Nations League, where they will face the Netherlands on June 6, with sights being set on a final showdown with either Portugal or Switzerland.

Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has said he cannot see Pep Guardiola leaving the club in the foreseeable future. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach has been linked with a move to Juventus next summer amid reports that City could face a transfer ban for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations. While Guardiola himself denied these rumours, Lescott has stated he also believes they have no merit and hinted he thinks the manager may not leave the club until they have won the Champions League. “I don’t believe Pep Guardiola will move on until he has dominated Europe with Manchester City," Lescott told Sporting Bet. "You could say it’s unfinished business as he bids to take their football to a global level. Pep has created so much success at Manchester City in such a short space of time and I believe there’s more success to come. “Everyone associated with the club wants Guardiola at Manchester City and there would be a lot of disappointed fans, staff and players if he left. I don’t expect Guardiola to look to move anywhere until his contract is up in two years, at least,” he added. The City boss has previously won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 respectively, but in three years at Bayern he failed to win the competition. Guardiola has also faced frustration in the Champions League with City and after being eliminated in the last-16 stage in 2017, failed to progress past the quarter-finals last season, when they lost to Liverpool over two legs. This year, after navigating past Schalke in the previous round, City face Tottenham in the last eight and will be hoping to win the tournament for the first time. Lescott believes his former side have the quality to win the Champions League, but might struggle with the lack of European experience in the squad. "I think Man Utd have potentially cleared the way for Man City to win the Champions League when they knocked PSG out of the tournament," said Lescott.  "I believe PSG were the biggest threat to Man City’s potential success in the Champions League this season. "Man City could still slip up in the latter stages of the tournament through lack of experience within the squad because not many of the Man City players have as much experience within the Champions League semi-finals. It would be a shame as they are definitely ready to win the Champions League." Should City win the competition, it might be as part of an historic treble, which the reigning Premier League champions could claim in 2018-19. City have already wrapped up the Carabao Cup and will return to the summit of the Premier League should they win their game in hand over Liverpool. Guardiola’s men also face Brighton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Harry Maguire has claimed Raheem Sterling is the best player in the Premier League this season and wants England fans to "cherish" the in-form Manchester City winger.   Sterling was the star turn for England against the Czech Republic on Friday, grabbing a hat-trick in a 5-0 triumph just two weeks after scoring all of City's goals in a 3-1 win over Watford.  The 24-year-old has earned praise from Leicester City defender and international team-mate Maguire, who revealed Sterling received his vote for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award.  "I think he's been the best player in the Premier League," Maguire. "He's scoring goals, creating goals and he's a nightmare to play against.  "He's taken his game from last year, where people saw the rise of Raheem, to this season where he has gone on to another level.  "It's harsh in terms of the [PFA] voting in that at this stage you don't know who’s going to win the Premier League. But I went with Raheem.  "It's an exciting time for the country to have him and we should cherish him and look after him while he's playing at such a high level.  "Personally, I want to see him scoring goals week in, week out, and especially against teams around us, not against us!" England play Montenegro on Monday in another Euro 2020 qualifier and Maguire has high hopes for achieving success at the tournament after reaching the last four at the 2018 World Cup. "At the next tournament we'll want to go further," Maguire said. "I think we are the only semi-finalists of the World Cup teams to get through to the Nations League finals, so that shows the progress we are making. "There were comments after the World Cup that we didn't beat any of the top, world-class teams, so it was nice to be put in a group with teams like Croatia and Spain – arguably the most difficult one of all – and come out on top. "The improvement we've shown since Gareth has come in, and the style of football we're playing, it feels like everyone's excited to watch us. "But the main thing is winning games. We've got the summer to look forward to when we can win a trophy."

Manchester City are “on the verge of doing something special”, says Mike Summerbee, with the club legend of the opinion that a quadruple is possible for Pep Guardiola’s side. The Blues have already taken the first step down that path by landing the Carabao Cup for a second successive season. Another of those crowns from 2018 which could be retained 12 months on is the Premier League title, with the reigning champions just two points off the pace with a game in hand on Liverpool. City are also through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and last eight of the Champions League, meaning that a clean sweep of the honours board is a realistic target. Guardiola has attempted to curb expectations at regular intervals, but his side are marching towards an historic achievement. Former fan favourite Summerbee believes four trophies can be secured, telling the Manchester Evening News: "We're on the verge of doing something special. "It's a special squad, that was proved last season. We've got a fantastic squad of players. I watch it and stand there in awe of the players. "Right the way through the whole squad, they can play, control the ball, pass the ball, it's as simple as that. They play entertaining football and that's what football is about. "They could do [win all four trophies] but at the moment they're on the verge of doing it. It's a situation where they're on the verge of being able to complete what they're wanting to complete. We've got a squad of players who can do it but it's going to be very, very difficult. It's not easy." The presence of Guardiola at the helm is considered to have lifted City into contention for multiple honours. As a proven winner from previous spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the Catalan is being heralded as the perfect coach to deliver more success at the Etihad Stadium. Summerbee added: "He's an amazing man. "He lives and eats football. The only thing he doesn't do is play anymore. He's very clever and astute." City will return to action after the international break with a trip to Fulham on March 30.

Manchester City will be looking to add “some exciting new players” to their squad during the summer transfer window, says chief executive Ferran Soriano. The Blues have invested heavily in recent years. Since Pep Guardiola took charge at the Etihad Stadium, some £500 million ($661m) has been spent on fresh faces. City were, however, relatively quiet during the summer of 2018 and again during the winter window of 2019. That situation may be about to change, with several leading talents from across Europe being linked with big-money moves to the reigning Premier League champions. City have faced Financial Fair Play questions of late, but more market moves are being planned. The likes of Saul Niguez, Declan Rice and Tanguy Ndombele are among those to be generating plenty of transfer talk. Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell is another one that Goal have confirmed to be in the picture, with City seeking an alternative to Benjamin Mendy amid the Frenchman’s injury struggles. Soriano has suggested that approaches will be made for a number of targets, telling the Manchester Evening News: “You know our squad, it’s very good. “It’ll need adjustments but not a revolution. I’m sure there will be some exciting new players coming.” City are set to see their coffers boosted this summer by a lucrative kit deal. An agreement is in place with Puma, with arch-rivals Manchester United the only side in England who can claim to be generating more from their supplier. A new 10-year partnership for City is worth £650 million (€863m). Soriano said at the time the deal was announced: “This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for City Football Group. “Our relationship with PUMA, covering five City Football Group clubs across four continents, will reset the model for sports partnerships on a truly global scale whilst being locally relevant and authentic for fans around the world. “PUMA share our vision for challenging expectations, and we are looking forward to what we believe will be a ground-breaking partnership.” City could embrace a new era working with Puma as winners of an historic quadruple. Guardiola’s side have already defended their Carabao Cup crown and are looking to do the same with the Premier League title. They are also through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Brighton, and the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with a two-legged tie with Tottenham up next in Europe.