Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has claimed that Stevan Jovetic still has a future at the club, despite being taken out of the Champions League squad.

The North-West outfit decided to replace the forward with £25m January signing Wilfried Bony, who is yet to play a game for the English champions.

"It was difficult to take a player out of the list but we bought in Bony and we have another box player," Pellegrini said in today's press conference. "It was a difficult decision but I think the decision was right.

"I don't think that it has relation to anything. It's important for Stevan to try to play as much as he can between now and the end of the season and have a high performance when he plays.

"After the season, we would like Stevan and all the squad to continue for next year, so I don't think it has any relation to anything else."

Jovetic has started just 18 games since his arrival from Fiorentina in 2013.