Pep Guardiola is always at pains to claim player recruitment and contracts are the preserve of his great friend and Manchester City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain.
“Ask Txiki,” or a variant thereof is generally snapped back at any press conference enquiry concerning a new but yet-to-be-confirmed arrival.
Of course, no player will come into Premier League champions’ carefully cultivated first-team environment with Guardiola’s say-so, and the youngster expected to be his next attacking singing comes with a pedigree to delight the City boss.
