Gary Neville impressed by Manchester City youngster Phil Foden but says he is at the wrong club: 'They have a lot of great kids... they should be playing'

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Gary Neville believes Phil Foden would benefit more from being at Manchester United, claiming the club's cross-town rivals will stifle his development through a lack of first-team opportunities. 

Sky Sports pundit Neville has been impressed by Foden during pre-season, with the 17-year-old being hailed for his performance in Manchester City's 2-0 defeat by United in Houston last week.

The youngster received the club's man-of-the-match award for his display despite the loss to Jose Mourinho's side at the NRG Stadium in Texas, but former United and England full back Neville is concerned he will not reach his potential.

Phil Foden put in a very impressive display for Manchester City against United on Thursday

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville is concerned that Foden will not be handed a sustained chance

Neville believes City are guilty of not handing their youngsters more opportunities to shine

During a series of Twitter posts, the 42-year-old wrote: 'He's at the wrong Manchester club for getting a sustained opportunity. City have a lot of great kids. They should be playing.

When challenged over the pressure on Pep Guardiola to win trophies during his second season having failed to do so for the first time in his managerial career, Neville responded by saying it should not be at the detriment of giving youngsters an opportunity.

The former Valencia manager believes it is not an 'either/or' when it comes to blooding youth over pursuing silverware, and the former right back believes City have 'some of the best young players and they don't get in' to the match day squads.

Foden is set to be given another chance to impress as City continue their preparations for the new season with International Champions Cup encounters against Real Madrid and Tottenham in the US over the coming seven days.

City manager Pep Guardiola hailed Foden as having a 'special gift' after the defeat by United

Guardiola suggested the 17-year-old could remain with his senior squad if he further impresses

Guardiola, who oversaw the rise of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, praised Foden for a display well beyond his years in the first Manchester derby on foreign soil, saying: 'I don't have words.

'I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw. You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy. 

'He will stay training with us in the pre-season and maybe he'll stay with us in season because he's special.' 

But recent history would suggest the Englishman will not be granted a sustained opportunity to prove his worth this term, with Kelechi Iheanacho - the last youth player to establish himself as a first-team squad member - set to leave this summer.

The playmaker glides past Ander Herrera as he displays his fleet-footed style in Houston

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn has been sent on loan to Norwich, while Joe Hart has joined West Ham with a view to making his loan switch permanent and Fabian Delph is widely expected to leave before the end of August.

With City's summer spending having hit a staggering £221.7million this summer with the arrival of defender Danilo from Real Madrid on Sunday, concerns over whether the country's stars of tomorrow can establish themselves at City are well-founded.

Foden was the standout player against United having played 74 minutes of the encounter, but the local lad faces stiff competition for an attacking midfield role.

He is behind Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Samir Nasri, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Patrick Roberts in the pecking order while Ilkay Gundogan and Yaya Toure can also play further forward.