Yaya Toure has hailed new Brazilian signing Gabriel Jesus as “very clever” and part of the new generation emerging at Manchester City. Toure has been at City for nearly seven years now and is now part of a core of senior players, along with Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Pablo Zabaleta, who have the task of gradually handing over leadership of the club.

Toure and Kompany both played on Saturday in a team featuring a young front-line of Gabriel, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling. It was only Gabriel’s first start in English football but he impressed and Toure said afterwards that despite his age he is a “very clever” player who looks far more experienced.

“Gabriel is very clever,” Toure said. “I say it at the training ground that he looks like an old guy because he is clever, he is moving clever and he is quite strong as well. It is not easy to play against tough defenders and he got kicked. But I told him to keep going.”

Toure was just as enthusiastic about Sane, the big-money signing from Schalke 04 who is starting to come good. “Sane is brilliant,” he said. “This year he is doing magnificent, very happy for him and the team as well because his talent is very fast and strong. Sometimes he is opening situations for us.”

Toure knows that it is his job to set the standards for Sane, Gabriel and the new generation to learn from. “It is very important for City because football keeps going and the new generation is coming stronger,” Toure said. “Of course we have big players around but those players are going to learn from the experienced players like me, Bacary Sagna, Kolarov, Vinny Kompany. It is very important to keep going like that. If they perform like they did on Saturday it is going to be brilliant for the future of the club.”