Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made an honest admission about the final days of the ongoing summer transfer window.Guardiola and his side will be keen to maintain their bright start to the ...
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made an honest admission about the final days of the ongoing summer transfer window.
Guardiola and his side will be keen to maintain their bright start to the season having opened the campaign with a dominant 0-4 win on the road away to Wolves, thanks to brace from Erling Haaland, and debut Premier League goals for Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.
It was the latter who shone on his debut in the top-flight with an assist to his name as well, and that showing likely makes him undroppable heading into the latest outing and this weekend’s clash against Tottenham.
While there has been a significant boost in terms of Rodri and Phil Foden returning to availability, transfer uncertainty surrounding the likes of Savinho, Ederson, Manuel Akanji, and Ilkay Gundogan complicates matters slightly.
And the subject of potential transfer business in the final days of the ongoing summer transfer window took centre stage in Pep Guardiola’s latest round of media activities, particularly discussion around Ederson.
Here is every word taken out of the embargoed section from the Manchester City manager at the City Football Academy’s media centre on Friday afternoon!
On the differences between the Juventus and Al Hilal games at the FIFA Club World Cup: “Listen, sometimes when you win a game there is a particular reason for your behaviour and the behaviour of the opponent, and [against] Al Hilal we didn’t control the transitions because it was three new players that still we didn’t talk much, and we didn’t anticipate that could happen in that game – that’s what we had to do. But it was a good lesson.
“Unfortunately, at the World Cup, when you have the lesson, you go home. In the Premier League you learn the lesson and in three days you have another game. That was a little bit of a pity. But there was really good things against Al Hilal as well. I think we did it, but at Wolves I saw many things that I liked. The most important is our journey, that it’s really good.
“I feel a good vibe, I feel we have the amount of perfect portion of energy and wise to the way you have to play. And we are ready to, game by game, that is our pre-season; Wolves, now this week, and after Spurs, before Brighton and before the international break is our pre-season.
“And we are completely machines to concepts, why we have to do this, why we have to do that. But after that, after the teams who play in Europe, after the international break, is three days, four days, three days, four days during 11 months. That is our time.
“We’ll see what happens, we’ll have bad moments, but as much as we’re fit and have this spirit, we will be an uncomfortable team for the opponents. This is what we were in the past, not just in terms of the place, in terms of energy, and passion, and desire, and love and joy, and sadness when you lose – if we can come back with that, we will be an uncomfortable team for the rest.”
On Rayan Cherki: “He’s a top class player in the small spaces, the vision that he has in the final third is unbelievable. He’s right, left foot, both sides. And of course, the good players are quicker, we will see when he performs.
“But at the end, the people up front, it is a question of numbers. In 20 minutes playing there, he scored a goal. So I love that. We have a lot of games, but a lot, and everybody will be so important, and I am happy to have him.
“He is just 21 years old, he’s a top signing for the price and the potential that he has. We are here to help him. If he is open-minded and understands the decisions, he will be a top-class player, because I don’t have doubts. His quality is exceptional.”
On whether Manchester City were playing a high backline to try and catch Wolves offside, as per Jamie Carragher’s post-match analysis: “We have done it for nine years. (Even riskier this year?) Maybe. We will see. Maybe, I don’t know! Always when we do that we try to reduce the risk and to be more effective in our pressing.
“We have to read when you have to hold, when you have to drop. We will see. If we win 0-4, it’s less risky, and if we lose 4-0, it will be so risky. So we will see. To be the first game and a few, few games in the pre-season because we didn’t have and I prioritised rest after the World Cup, and especially training here, training, training, training, because during the season you play games and you don’t train, and I prefer to train now than to play games and travel, and so on.
“You spend time travelling and fatigue, and after you can’t train. We prioritised that. It was not a perfect game, of course, but to be the first game, listen it was good! I would sign every first game in the season away winning 0-4. They had a chance, but as well we had more.
“And many, many things we talked about, they tried to apply and tried to convince them. Not because we said you have to do that. Why do you feel when you do that you are comfortable, you are a better team, we are more of an uncomfortable team, a more precise team. This is the reason why.”
On whether it helps knowing he has Nico Gonzalez – who can be dropped into the holding midfield role to give Rodri more time to recover: “Rodri is desperate to play like all of them. If you see how hungry they are, all of them, to play at the beginning of the season. Everyone wants to be involved, no doubt and Rodri is desperate.
“After one year, and after the year before the injury against Arsenal, he played 70 games. He said to me, ‘I am mentally fatigued, I am so tired’, it’s normal. But now he’s fresh, and wants to play desperately. And I want to [play him]!
“But we bring Nico with Kova [Mateo Kovacic] to make a little bit in that role when Rodri was absent. And if they’re consistent, maybe it’s going to happen – because nobody knows – the amount of minutes, the amount of time.
“But we want to be consistent with training, games, training, games. Because I have the feeling playing 90 minutes, then three days, then 90 minutes, he will not be consistent, and will be back [injured] again. We want to be sure that he can help us in moments and in the meantime…
“Of course, Tijji [Tijjani Reijnders] can play there, but Tijji has special quality to smell the goal in the box and in the runners, and we don’t want to lose that potential. And Nico is a young player with it. The guys are so nice. Like Nico, for example, like Khusa [Abdukodir Khusanov]. It massively helps. It must be helpful, 100 per cent.
“When they’re so generous with the team and always being positive. I’m really, really pleased, the game Nico played against Wolves, because it’s not easy. And he has a special quality that you need for an incredible amount of talent up front, like Phil [Foden], like Rayan [Cherki], like Bernie [Bernardo Silva], like Jeremy [Doku], like Omar [Marmoush] – having a player who can sustain that position is so important for us.
“And he’s young, he wants to learn, and for a long time, he can help us. I have the feeling right now; no player can play every three days during 11 months. I think it’s impossible, from my point of view. Maybe I’m wrong. Some players can play more, but the other players cannot play every three days. It’s impossible.”
On Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders running more than anyone else in the Premier League – is that something he consciously wants more of after last season: “Absolutely. All the time we were a team that ran a lot a lot without the ball. We were a pain in the ass for the opponents in high pressing and running and everything – always we were that type of team. And last season for the injuries, we lost the energy, and the other ones.
“The most important is you have to come back and after, we’ll see our game. But what I’m concerned about after one second later is how we played. Run, run? It’s about WHEN you have to run. I can go to the track field and take a marathon and play with us, it’s not about that.
“You have to know when you have to do it, but the energy… Today in modern football they have to be like that, they know it. But of course, Rayan [Cherki] especially is learning and Nico [Gonzalez] is trying, but I like it, I think all of them.
“Bernardo [Silva], every game is 12, 13 kilometres ran. But last season we ran some places and it was useless, so we didn’t play good. The most important is the combination of both things.”
On whether there has been a change in Phil Foden’s mood in recent months: “Yes, Phil applied the consistency we wanted. He was really good and after had this problem in his ankle, but it’s fine. I would say much, much better. So what can I say about Phil?!
“The last Premier League we won, he was massively important. He was the best player in the Premier League. I remember the last game against West Ham, the two goals early. Phil is top class, and extraordinary player.
“Always I try to convince him that he can be better, can read the situations better. As much as he is happy and he is a joy to play, Phil gives something unique. I regret maybe in the game against Al Hilal not bringing him on earlier; a team so deep, him and Rayan [Cherki] creating that, but after that, the balance in that moment, the game was so up and down, up and down transitions.
“And when it happened, we wanted to be more solid and always think with Phil and Rayan, maybe we concede more transitions, and that’s why we spend a little bit more time to bring on them.
“But listen, I never doubted the quality of Phil, what he gives us, and the only thing I want is his joy to play again, him to be happy, and be again game, game, game, training, training, training, and being 90 minutes always gives you something special and unique.”
On whether Phil Foden has put last season behind him: “Maybe it was the first season that was after six or seven [season] winning everything and dropped a little bit. The question is if he learned the lesson, he has experienced it, that would be great.
“Always there are seasons that you can’t be like you were. Phil has been incredibly consistent, incredible in these many years, a lot. And this is what we are looking for.”
On struggles against Tottenham whilst at Manchester City: “Bad luck? I don’t know, it’s a good team. It’s true, it’s a struggle. Ask me the reason why, I don’t know! I said because we were not better, or many things, many times we performed good, but they have incredible weapons up front, especially in the past. Top. Hopefully we can, tomorrow, change that dynamic. If you ask me why, I don’t know.”
On why he cannot say Ederson is his first-choice goalkeeper vs Tottenham: “No, we’ll see tomorrow. We’ll see the side, he’s had training these days good, and we’ll see. We’ll talk with Xabi [Mancisidor] and we’ll see, because in that moment everything is until – all the clubs I think it’s happened – after the Brighton game or after next weekend, the transfer window is over and after, ‘OK, now it’s done’. Now everything is, ‘What’s going to happen?’
“And to be honest, I don’t know what’s happening with a few players. I don’t know who’s coming, who’s staying, or leaving. So I don’t know. I don’t know. With all the clubs, I had the feeling it happened the same. So we are not an exception because the agents make his roles and the clubs have his own opinions, the players have opinions and after that we’ll see what happens.”
Category: General Sports
