Man City boss Pep Guardiola offers advice to Nico O’Reilly and makes big Bernardo Silva claim

After the Manchester City academy product completed his incredible rise with his first England cap during the international break, Pep Guardiola cautioned Nico O’Reilly to maintain his composure.

The 20-year-old, who was hardly included in the starting lineup at the Etihad this time last year, is now England’s left-back ahead of the summer World Cup. Although O’Reilly has only started 13 Premier League games, he participated in both of the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifying victories against Serbia and Albania last week.

O’Reilly may now start for England at the World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada due to doubts about possible competitors for that spot. Luke Shaw is still being ignored, Myles Lewis-Skelly is having difficulty getting playing time at Arsenal, Lewis Hall has been hurt for Newcastle, and right-backs Djed Spence and Tino Livramento have stepped in on the left.

O’Reilly now has the opportunity to personalize the shirt, and he is currently keeping Rayan Ait-Nouri, a £31 million summer acquisition, out of the City squad. Although Guardiola was happy to see O’Reilly make his England debut, he stated that he now needs to steer clear of the dangers associated with an abrupt ascent to fame.

“I’m happy for him, hopefully he can continue, be humble,” he stated. “I hope you’re not confused. When you play for your country and achieve the pinnacle of your abilities at that age, maybe he will be steady.

“I’m delighted for the academy, all the people who worked with him since a little boy, all the managers and scouts, everyone involved in his development, to reach the national team it’s a big, big compliment.”

Although captain Bernardo Silva is nearing the conclusion of his Etihad career and O’Reilly is only getting started at City, Guardiola was full of praise for Silva’s astute performance against Liverpool two weeks ago.

In his news conference prior to the trip to Newcastle, the City manager reiterated that the Portuguese midfielder was among the best players he had ever worked with.

“Top, one of the best,” he declared. “He can do everything. He’s not prolific in goals or assists, but he gives us and gives himself something that is not in the stats but he gives you a lot of things that are incredibly valuable for the team, his mentality, absolutely one of the best players I ever trained in my career.”