Guardiola ‘more than happy’ with Manchester City squad

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  • Post published:August 21, 2021

Pep Guardiola has said he would be “more than happy” with his Manchester City squad if the transfer window was to close now.

Since the end of last season the Premier League champions have signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million, while Sergio Aguero has left and joined Barcelona.

City have been linked through the summer with Harry Kane, and earlier this month Guardiola admitted the club would like to sign the Tottenham striker, adding that if Spurs “don’t want to negotiate there is nothing more to say”.

Guardiola earlier this month admitted that City were interested in Harry Kane (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA).

Guardiola earlier this month admitted that City were interested in Harry Kane (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

It has been reported that Bayern Munich frontman Robert Lewandowski, 33 on Saturday, is wanting to make a move away from the German club in the next couple of years.

And at his media conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s home match against Norwich, Guardiola, who managed Lewandowski at Bayern, was asked if he was someone he would be interested in.

The City manager said: “He is a so important player for Bayern Munich and he will stay at Bayern Munich.”

Guardiola then added: “I’m not going to to talk about 11 days left, about the transfer market. I don’t know what’s going to happen, nobody knows.

Robert Lewandowski is reportedly wants a move away from Bayern Munich in the next couple of years (John Walton/PA).
Robert Lewandowski reportedly wants a move away from Bayern Munich in the next couple of years (John Walton/PA)

“So tomorrow we have a game. We will prepare for the game, the Arsenal game [on 28 August], and when it is finished, when we come back from the international break, we’ll have all the squad to fight for every game in the season.”

Guardiola was then asked if he would be happy with the squad he is currently working with if the window was to close now, and he said: “Absolutely. More than happy.

“It is the same team, except Sergio for Jack Grealish, that we had last season.”

Guardiola also revealed that Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt for Saturday’s game, but Ilkay Gundogan is set to be available.

Kevin De Bruyne has been recovering from an ankle problem (Nick Potts/PA).

Kevin De Bruyne has been recovering from an ankle problem (Nick Potts/PA)

Playmaker De Bruyne, who came off the bench against Tottenham, has been recovering from an ankle problem and was not taking part in training on Friday.

Guardiola said: “Everybody is fit, except Phil Foden [who has been sidelined by a foot issue], and Kevin has a little problem still with his ankle. Tomorrow we’ll see how he feels.”

Midfielder Gundogan has trained after sustaining a shoulder problem in the Tottenham game.

While City were beaten, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea all recorded victories in their league campaign openers last weekend.

City lost 1-0 at Tottenham last weekend (Nick Potts/PA).

City lost 1-0 at Tottenham last weekend (Nick Potts/PA)

Guardiola said: “We have 111 points to play, 37 games. I cannot deny it, we would have preferred to have three points, but tomorrow we have the chance to win the first three.

“Of course, we have to start to win games, of course, if we want to be there, close to the top of the league. But it is the second fixture. Many games and many things are going to happen this season.

“Hopefully, what I wish is to win the game. But I would like to see the team a little bit better in many aspects than the game against Spurs. We spoke today, these days, so we’ll see if we can do better.”

Meanwhile, City on Friday announced striker Liam Delap (18) had agreed a new three-year deal with the club running to the summer of 2026.

The City academy product has made three appearances in Guardiola’s team in all competitions, scoring once.