Embargoed Press Conference: Pep Guardiola admits satisfaction with existing right-back options | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has suggested he is satisfied with the club’s existing options in the right-back position.

Those comments come as the Etihad Stadium side prepare for their reunion with legendary former right-sided full-back Kyle Walker this weekend, who returns to Manchester City as a Burnley player.

After spending the second-half of last season on loan in Italy with Serie A giants AC Milan, Walker returned to Manchester knowing that he was entirely out of Pep Guardiola’s plans for the new season.

And while opportunities were on the table for a permanent move into Europe or further afield into Saudi Arabia or Major League Soccer, the opportunity to remain in the north-west of England with Burnley proved most attractive.

Despite Walker’s exit, Manchester City failed to sign a permanent successor in the right-back role, amid links to the likes of Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento and Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso earlier in the calendar year.

Now, here is every word taken out of the embargoed section from the Manchester City manager at the City Football Academy from Friday afternoon!

On whether events with Kyle Walker last season made him decide upon the new Manchester City captain himself: “Absolutely not. I never put responsibility on what happens with one situation of one person. So that’s why we choose just one or the team chooses one. There are a lot in that position.

“So what happened last season, many things happened, not just one person. Never happened one person. Absolutely. So it was many, many injuries, there are reasons why when the captain left, there were many reasons why and there are another captains.

“You know, it’s not, but it’s a good lesson. So life is like that. It happened many times, many things during one season, it’s just learn from that and today, this season I decided that and maybe next season I will decide completely the opposite.”

On whether Kyle Walker’s request to leave came as a surprise given the struggles at Manchester City: “I don’t want any, any player… I would have loved the best Kyle, but he was unhappy for reasons or wanted to take a situation for family reasons, for his life.

“Always, you know, all of you and the players know my opinion; so sometimes I take the decision. But when the player hasn’t been satisfied and cannot, you know, be there as much as they have an agreement with the club, for me it’s fine.”

On whether the quality coming through from the Academy is now at a level where as many as eight players are playing for Manchester City as they did at Huddersfield: “Listen, in Barcelona, we played the first Champions League final against Man United with seven players [from the] Academy – that is the stamp for the job of the Academy. To play one game in the Carabao Cup, it’s a good sign.

“But for me, the players in the Academy is James Trafford has come back after being built here and of course in other clubs, in Burnley, and Phil [Foden] and Rico [Lewis] and Nico [O’Reilly]. That is the other ones, OK, Divine [Mukasa] has a huge potential, but we will see in the future when playing season after season. That is a player from the Academy.

“But imagine the amount of players unfortunately left for the reason why, they were a top, top class player above and could not have the space [in the team]. It would be, my god, a starting 11 right now in the first team, because if you start to count the incredible players in other clubs that was being educated and played here in Man City in the Academy.

“But it’s a good sign that still we have loan players like they are playing a lot, look at Max Alleyne in Watford that I know is playing really good and many of them and some players here that have a potential to help us to be and see what happens. And that’s why you have the Academy.”

On whether the long term aim of the club is to have the sort of productivity as Barcelona have had from La Masia: “At the end, we have top, top class players that are not here. And everybody knows it is because it was position, top, top figure players to win the Trebles and Quadruple.

“If it would not have happened that, it was in that moment in that level, would not in that moment, this may be [have the] capability to make a step up, these players would be here. For sure. For sure.”

On the difficulty of replacing Kyle Walker: “It’s difficult, of course; a player that had played eight, nine years in one team like Man City, playing 55, 60 games per season and in the titles, winning the titles, it’s not just Kyle. So many of them is so difficult to replace.

“But that is what the club has to do. We get old, right? Not just the managers, the players as well. And that’s why it’s happened. But of course, there are figures that are difficult to replace.”

On whether there were any talks to solve the right-back position in the summer: “I don’t know right now. I’m happy with Khusa [Abdukodir Khusanov] who’s playing lately, with Matheus [Nunes], with Rico [Lewis who] can play there of course, and even John [Stones] can play there. So in that terms it’s fine. But I don’t know yet.”

On whether there is extra pressure on the likes of Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis, and Abdukodir Khusanov in replacing Kyle Walker: “No, absolutely not. Kyle has his abilities, his skills as a player and these ones have another one. So it’s happened. I said many times I would love to have Vinny [Kompany] here, or maybe the old players that we have that helped us a lot. I would love it. But it’s happened.

“When the moment decides, ‘I want to leave, because I don’t want to be here anymore’, what can we do? We have other players and they have to do their own careers. Imagine young players from the Academy have to play to prove what they have done to their predecessor. So, do your job, your skills, your mentality, what you have to do in your career.

“Try to make a long career like Kyle [Walker] has done, it’s the only he has to do. It’s live your life like a professional lives. Today is so demanding every three days in the big clubs. It’s different when you play the competition one game a week, when you play three a week it’s completely different, the teams, the clubs. And this is what they have to do.

“And I’m pretty sure, at the end Matheus [Nunes], or Khusa [Abdukodir Khusanov], or John [Stones], or Rico [Lewis], they have to make their own careers here or whatever the future will decide they have to be.”