Nasri did not appear in either, and defender Gael Clichy – without naming names – said that Guardiola has forced those with fitness issues to train on their own. We want to avoid that. “We want their weight to be in the right place where they can run for 90 minutes like Fernandinho and [Aleksandar] Kolarov”. “I guess the two of them are just great managers, but you could say the same for Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho”.
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The manager is pleased with his players’ application in general.
When asked if he was pleased with Nasri’s progress, Guardiola said: “I can not have any complaints about the team”.
A deal for Stones is yet to be agreed, though it is claimed that Everton’s valuation of the player is close to the sum which could be offered by the Premier League giants.
“In eight or nine years, Guardiola has won pretty much everything and he’s changed the way we see football”. If he comes, we’ll be happy. Same answer for Stones.
“It’s a player from Everton”.
“He will play good, I have confidence in him, he will play good, I want to help him a lot, and he will help us a lot, so I’m satisfied that Raheem is with us”.
Reports suggest City are growing increasingly confident of luring Stones away from Goodison Park for a fee in the region of £42m despite the Merseyside club hoping to push the deal beyond £50m in the coming weeks.
Stones was part of the England squad at Euro 2016 but did not feature as they were knocked out in the last 16.
Despite a dip in form last season, Stones is highly regarded by top clubs in England and overseas.
Everton stood firm in the face of several big-money bids, which neared £40m, for Stones from Chelsea last summer.
Clichy believes City’s attackers will enjoy the forthcoming campaign as Guardiola’s fluent style, which is built around a mobile midfield, should help create many chances.
City’s next match is against Arsenal in Gothenburg on Aug 7.
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Whilst hopeful that Stones will still join, Guardiola is working on a back-up plan.
