Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged his striker Sergio Aguero to help the team maintain pressure on opponents and not “disappear” when he does not have the ball.
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Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday, “I have an excellent relationship with Joe”. “Barcelona were the first ones to announce the contact with Manchester City”.
“But I’m sorry guys, until the deal is complete or not complete (I can’t speak), but at the moment the player (Bravo) is not our player”. Barca confirmed last week the two clubs were in negotiations and reports have suggested a deal for the 33-year-old could cost City around £17million.
Hart, 29, has been linked with Everton and Sevilla and although Guardiola is happy for him to stay and fight for his place, he accepts that he will not be able to keep the England global against his will.
“I am a little bit surprised, in the short time, with the level we played here and in Bucharest; it’s very good”. “When I see how happy they are at the end, that’s why we’re here – to make the supporters happy”. I’m not involved to speak.
Guardiola was equally reluctant to discuss the Bravo deal, even as the 33-year-old Chile goalkeeper arrived on a delayed flight from Barcelona to have a medical.Bravo will play the “sweeper keeper” role that Guardiola feels is now beyond Hart’s capabilities, with Caballero expected to revert back to his job as No 2. “Certainly when Joe joins us because he’ll be in the squad”, said Allardyce. I am learning from him as well – it’s not any pressure for me to play. That is why I am confident that it will remain this way and we will have solidarity and help each other. “That is why I am here”.
“I can not deny what everyone knows”, added Guardiola.
Guardiola has traditionally entrusted his goalkeepers with an instrumental role in the team’s build-up play, like he did at both Bayern Munich and Barcelona. You can not be brilliant with the ball if you disappear when you don’t have the ball.
Guardiola also praised striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who came off the bench and proved influential in City’s third and fourth goals against Stoke.
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Guardiola, who helped sanction a new two-year deal for Iheanacho, stated among other things, he likes the alertness of the 2013 Federation Internationale de Football Association U-17 World Cup star, adding that the 19-year old is a ideal back-up for Argentine goal machine, Sergio Aguero. But it is a process, so we need time to get better about our goalkicks, about our buildup or four in the back or three in the back.
