MICAH Richards is very much a part of City's future - despite a raft of speculation linking him with a January move away.

Manager Mark Hughes acknowledges the defender is not the finished article, but believes he can become an outstanding Blues player.

Richards has been linked with Tottenham in recent days amid suggestions he is unhappy at not getting a regular game at Eastlands.

But Hughes has moved to reassure the versatile Academy graduate that he has a part to play in City's push for glory.

The manager said: "Micah's not going anywhere in January or at any time. He's a big part of what we're trying to do here."

Richards has packed so much into his career that it is sometimes easy to forget he is only 21.

It is just over four years since he made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old substitute against Arsenal.

And just over 12 months after making his Premier League bow, the defender won his first full England cap in a friendly against Holland.

But Richards would be the first to admit that there have been times over the last couple of years when he has found the going tough.

He hasn't won a full England cap since Fabio Capello took over as national boss two years ago, although he has represented the Under-21s regularly.

And Richards' path to the first team at Eastlands has also been blocked of late, with Pablo Zabaleta taking over the right-back role, while Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott have become the regular central defensive pairing.

Nedum Onuoha's recent return to fitness has given Richards another rival for a defensive berth.

But Hughes believes that people have sometimes been too quick to criticise Richards.

And the City boss has no doubts that the youngster can realise his undoubtedly potential at Eastlands.

Hughes said: "He's still a very young man, and his football experience is great for someone of so few years.

"People sometimes don't give him enough credit for what he's achieved up to this point in his career.

"But he knows he's nowhere near the finished article. There's a huge amount of potential still to be tapped in to.

"It's down to me and it's down to my coaches to bring that out of him."

Hughes sees Richards' physical presence and his versatility as his two key attributes.

The youngster has always shown himself willing to move around the side - having played in both full-back positions, central defence and in midfield for the Blues.

As far as Hughes and his coaching team are concerned, the job is to take the best of Richards and mould him into a truly great player. And the City boss is adamant that it can be done.

Hughes said: "His physical attributes lend themselves to so many positions on the field of play. We have to make sure that he's training and playing correctly and learning every day.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, he'll grow and develop as an outstanding player."

The City boss believes that Richards' difficulties are the kind of growing pains that face every young player tipped for great things.

It was perhaps inevitable that the defender would struggle to maintain his incredible early progress - and would have to deal with the criticism coming his way as a result.

He has also had to learn to deal with the fact that expectations at Eastlands are a lot higher now than they were when he burst into Stuart Pearce's first team.

With a galaxy of stars on the Eastlands rota, competition for City first-team spots has rarely been tougher.

But Hughes is confident that Richards will rise to the challenge.

The manager added: "He had a real burst of attention, certainly when he broke into the team.

"With a young player, there will always then be a period when that plateaus out.

"You have to regroup and get used to people maybe taking a more critical view of you.

"Maybe in recent times, Micah's found it difficult to adjust. When he first broke into the team, he was always given plaudits. Now people are looking more critically at him.

"That's part of the development of a young player. You have to adjust to that and grow as a consequence."

Hughes, meanwhile is looking to avoid a situation where City lose key players for up to 10 games due to the African Nations Cup.

Both star striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Toure will be part of the three-week festival in Angola next January as Togo and the Ivory Coast take their places in the 16-team competition.

That absence will be keenly felt but there is also a suggestion the respective nations will be calling their players into a training camp a fortnight before the tournament actually begins.

Such a move, if enforced, would rob City of the former Arsenal duo for the festive programme, which includes matches against Stoke and Wolves.