I hope from my heart that Aguero stays, says Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola says he hopes "from deep in my heart" that Sergio Aguero will stay at Manchester City for "a long time".

 Aguero was linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium following Guardiola's decision to 

leave the striker on the bench for last week's game at Barcelona.

Various reasons why Aguero could yet leave the club in the near future has been analysed by various media outlet - not least the lack of an announcement about the new contract he signed back in January.

But Guardiola went out of his way during a press conference on Tuesday to insist he wants the Argentine to stay at City for as long as possible.

"I want to say I am so happy with Sergio, and hopefully he stays here a long time," he said. "I hope, from deep in my heart, that Sergio will stay here. I know the strikers depend on the moments, sometimes they’re good, but we cannot forget how many goals he has scored for us."

He continued: "I am here to help him. When you make a mistake they are my mistakes. I want to help him to develop."

Guardiola was speaking ahead of City's EFL Cup clash with Manchester United on Wednesday, and the Blues boss says he will make a number of changes to his starting line-up.

"We are going to rotate," he added. "Some of them who didn’t play are going to play. Firstly because they deserve it, also because Barcelona was a tough, tough game, and against Southampton... the players are tired. I still didn’t decide which players are going to play, I need to see in the training session."

Kevin De Bruyne will play no part after picking up a calf injury at the weekend, although it is hoped he will be fit for Saturday's game at West Brom and next Tuesday's meeting with Barcelona.

Guardiola played a number of youngsters in the last round of the EFL Cup against Swansea, but says it is not the right time to play them again due to the club's five-game winless run.

"They are with us and I am so happy about what they did, when they played, when they are in the locker room and especially in the training sessions," he said of Aleix Garcia and Pablo Maffeo. 

"But we have to think about it, normally the young players have to be involved when we are in a good moment. Young players have to be involved in a good environment. We are going to see, maybe I don’t have other options so they will play, but I am sure they have a good enough level."