He is English

In a day and age where there are more UEFA regulations to comply with than Jose Mourinho has gripes after a game, having home grown players in a squad is essential – and when they are as good and as versatile as Milner, that is no bad thing.

Add to that the fact that it would cost a fair bit to bring in a player who can both be as good as Milner and as versatile and it becomes clear that City have a mighty good thing going with Milner and need to keep him at the club.

Pellegrini may not be able to offer guarantees over his playing time but who is to say he will even be in a job come the end of the season anyway?