Pep Guardiola spoke about what he expects in the summer transfer window after Ilkay Gundogan played his way to a new deal
Pep Guardiola is focused on players who can cope with the physical demands of next season as he raised doubts over whether Ilkay Gundogan will remain at the club. The German has automatically triggered a new deal that keeps him at the Etihad until 2026, although he could still leave.
Gundogan’s return to Manchester after a year in Barcelona seemed too good to be true, and so it has proven. The Premier League has changed a lot in the 12 months that Gundogan was away, and he has struggled to keep up with the new pace.
That has not been helped by the injury crisis across the squad that he has largely been immune from, meaning he has been asked to play more than he or Guardiola expected. His appearances have already triggered a 12-month extension, although his level this season has left the question of whether a parting of ways may be best for all in summer.
“He has one more year on his contract, definitely,” said Guardiola. “What is going to happen I don’t know.
“But he has one more year now. The Gundo from Leicester, the Gundo from Bournemouth, the Gundo from [Palace] is the Gundo I remember.
“When we won the Treble he was so important. His activity, space, his defensive intelligence, when he arrives. Gundo has been with us massively.
“But as a team, we could not help him. It is not about ‘you, you, you’. Everyone was down. Everyone was below because the team was not playing good.
“When the team plays good the player arrives. Without that, in modern football, you cannot do it.”
Guardiola was asked if left-back was a priority for the summer transfer window, with six players having been used there over the course of the season and attacking midfielder Nico O’Reilly the latest to be trialled. He came up with a goal and an assist in the second half against Palace, although the visitors ruthlessly exploited space in behind him in the opening 30 minutes.
City’s manager agreed that the position is an issue, although he did point out that he has played without an orthodox left-back for years and had considerable success. More important to Guardiola is the ability to stay fit.
“Obviously. Nico is helping us but he is not a left back. That is true,” he said.
“I played with Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, Fabian Delph at left-back. We find solutions for many years.
“When players have qualities they help us. Sometimes Rico plays full-back on the left. It helps us massively.
“Of course, we can help with Nathan (Ake) but Nathan, like John Stones, has been injured all season. The most important thing, from my point of view, I said to the club, which players are reliable for the future.
“You cannot perform if you are not reliable and you are injured. The players we have, they can play every three days, three days, or they cannot. Then we build a squad for next season.”
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