Man City transfer news: Guardiola makes emotional plea for key figure to stay

Ederson's future is currently the subject of much speculation, with the Brazil international believed to be considering leaving European football behind in order to make the move to the Saudi Pro League.

Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad are among the clubs to be linked with the 30-year-old, who is thought to be interested in pursuing a fresh challenge at this stage of his career.

However, Guardiola has made his feelings on the matter clear, revealing that he "would love" for the South American to remain at the Etihad Stadium.

"I wish with the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us. I would love him to stay," Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

Guardiola hails "important figure" Ederson

"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."

Ederson, who has a contract with his current side until June 2026, arrived at Man City from Benfica in 2017, and he has represented the Citizens on 332 occasions in all competitions, including 43 appearances last term.

The Brazilian has won 17 trophies during his time at the Etihad Stadium, including six Premier League trophies, two FA Cups and the Champions League.

A recent report in The Athletic claimed that Ederson had been impacted by the praise directed towards Man City's number two goalkeeper Stefan Ortega at the end of last season.

However, the club's number one took to social media to firmly deny those claims.

Ederson hits out at recent claim regarding Ortega

"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote on Instagram.

"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.

"'At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title we had won, but the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."

Ortega started Man City's opening pre-season friendly against Celtic last week, before Ederson was introduced at the interval of what proved to be a 4-3 defeat for the English champions.