“I’ll keep an eye on you” – Guardiola’s promise to midfielder as Man City manager looks to the future

In the summer of 2021, the City Group went shopping at Brazilian side Fluminense and signed two youngsters: Metinho and Kaiky.

The midfielder moved to Troyes on a €5m deal, and later sent to Lommmel SK on a loan.

The striker, meanwhile, joined Manchester City, and is currently having a spell at Paços de Ferreira.

Since Metinho couldn’t have the chance of signing for the Premier League side at first, that remains as an objective for him, and this subject was discussed in an interview with UOL journalist Rafael Reis.

As pointed out in the story, there’s a quote from Pep Guardiola which motivates the youngster to this day: “I’ll keep an eye on you”.

Metinho struggled when first moving to Europe as he soon had an injury and needed surgery. That’s why things didn’t work out for him at Troyes, and he now works to do his best at Lommel.

During his recovery, the midfielder went to England to get to know Manchester City’s facilities, and that’s where he had a word with Pep Guardiola.

“He asked how my recovery was going and said he was keeping an eye on my performance. For now, my goal is to do well in games and grow as an athlete. But I really have the dream of playing for Manchester City,” Metinho told UOL.

The 19-year-old was born in Congo, but despite being contacted by their national team to represent them, he claims he’d rather have a shot to play for Brazil, where he grew, and ending up on Manchester City’s books down the line would certainly help his cause.