KEY POINTS

  • The 19-year-old is eligible for his City debut on Saturday.
  • Guardiola denies talking about Aguero's contract at recent meeting.

Pep Guardiola is ready to throw Gabriel Jesus straight into the Manchester City first-team against Tottenham Hotspur.

City signed Jesus, 19, from Palmeiras during the summer transfer window but allowed him to remain in Brazil to finish the domestic season with his former club.

The Brazil international arrived in Manchester this week to finally complete his move and with his transfer now ratified by the Football Association, the City boss says he will not hesitate to name him in his side when Mauricio Pochettino's side come to town.

"He is fit and ready to be involved in the team," Guardiola told a pre-match press conference. "He's a young player, 19-years-old, we cannot think he will solve our problems. He will help us, he will have time to get involved. It would have been easier if he could have arrived in the beginning of the season - but he is smart and he has quality."

Jesus' arrival will put Sergio Aguero under pressure for a first-team role for the first time as a City player with Guardiola keen to encourage competition between his forward options. All the strikers try to help us. Gabriel will be involved in the way we want to play. He will help us because he is young and he wants to create his career here."

Gabriel Jesus
City beat a host of clubs to the Brazil international's signature in the summer Getty

A late-night meeting between Guardiola, Aguero and the striker's agent was the topic of discussion on Friday with the Daily Mail reporting the trio met to discuss the player's contract. There is uncertainty surrounding Aguero's current contract situation, with reports claiming he has agreed to a one-year extension until 2020, although no formal announcement has been made.

However, Guardiola chose to play down the meeting when addressing the press. "No, we didn't speak about the contract. He has a long contract here. He has a lot of money so he invited his coach to have dinner."