Mark Hughes has ruled out any prospect of Micah Richards leaving Manchester City during the January transfer window.
Richards has lost his way over the past 18 months, having at one stage been good enough to become the youngest defender ever to play for England.
That first of 11 caps came in Holland in November 2006, when Richards was just 18.
Yet since the exit of Steve McClaren, Richards has found himself dumped back into Stuart Pearce's Under-21 squad as Fabio Capello is yet to be convinced by the defender's quality.
Richards admitted he was bewildered not to be considered by Capello for the recent friendly with Brazil once Glen Johnson was injured, Aston Villa's Luke Young receiving the call, only to turn it down claiming he had previously expressed a desire to quit the international scene.
Not getting a regular game at Eastlands has hardly helped and with Pablo Zabaleta hanging onto the right-back berth, it was rumoured Harry Redknapp was intent on taking Richards to Tottenham during the next transfer window.
However, Hughes insists that will not happen and is adamant Richards still has a big future in the game.
"Micah Richards is not going anywhere in January," said Hughes.
"He is a big part of what we are trying to do here and we know he can improve.
"Don't forget, he is still a very young man.
"His football experience is great for someone of so few years and sometimes he doesn't get enough credit for that.
"But he is nowhere near the finished article. There is a huge amount of potential still to be tapped into."
Physically, Richards has few worries. The feeling is that his concentration is not what it could be, which leads to him getting into the wrong positions too often.
It was a problem Pearce identified when he was City boss, so the fact it still happens suggest a lack of application, another moan that is sometimes aired in Richards' direction.
However, Hughes is willing to be patient, believing Richards can eventually turn into a top player.
"Micah's physical attributes lend themselves to so many positions," said Hughes.
"We just have to make sure he is training and playing correctly because he will grow into an outstanding player.
"He had a real burst of attention when he broke into the team but with a young player you always have a period where they plateau out.
"You have to get used to people taking a more critical view of you and maybe Micah has found that adjustment difficult."
