Former Aston Villa defender Ahmed Elmohamady has singled out Pep Guardiola for the transformation of Manchester City star Joao Cancelo into a world-class player.
Elmohamady made the declaration after Cancelo inspired City to a 2-0 triumph over Manchester United in a Premier League fixture on Saturday.
The 27-year-old was involved in the two first-half goals at Old Trafford as the visitors claimed the derby bragging rights in style.
He made the cross that Eric Bailly turned into his own net in the seventh minute before assisting Bernardo Silva to double their lead on the stroke of half-time.
On Wednesday, Cancelo made a hat-trick of assists as Manchester City hammered Club Brugge 4-1 in a Champions League game.
After seeing another masterclass performance from the Portugal international who played the entire duration of Saturday’s game, Elmohamady praised Guardiola for his impact on the player he bought from Juventus in August 2019.
“Pep has improved so many players over the years but Cancelo became a world-class player,” the former Egypt captain tweeted.
Elmohamady has been without a club since he left Premier League club Aston Villa at the expiry of his contract in May 2021.
He followed Saturday's encounter and he singled out two other players for praise including goalkeeper David De Gea for his first-half heroics that saved Manchester United from conceding more goals.
"Bernado Silva, what a player. De Gea saving Manchester United from another five. Wow,” he tweeted.
The result was Manchester United's second straight loss at Old Trafford after they suffered a 5-0 defeat to Liverpool in a Premier League match on October 24.
It also extended the Red Devils' disappointing home run in 2021 having lost eight home matches in all competitions so far, their most in a calendar year since losing eight in 1989.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men are fifth on the league table with 17 points after 11 games while Man City are in the second spot with 23 points after the same number of games, two points behind leaders Chelsea.