Pep Guardiola admits he is “happy” with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker replacements | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted he is “happy” with the club’s replacements for Kyle Walker operating within their first-team squad.

Walker’s mid-season departure last year left a significant void having been a cornerstone of Guardiola’s defence for nearly a decade, with the England international’s exit sparking debate about how City would adapt tactically, particularly given his pace and recovery ability.

The discussion also came against a backdrop of Guardiola shutting down rumours around Walker’s influence on captaincy decisions earlier this week, with the Catalan coach stressing that the defender’s exit was only part of a wider series of challenges last season.

His latest comments now mark a further attempt to shift focus towards the future, with confidence being placed in the current squad options as club officials seek reinforcement in the right-back role.

Manchester City have already experimented with different solutions across the right side of defence, including redeploying midfielders and central defenders, as well as leaning on Academy graduates over the course of the opening few weeks of the new season.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the challenge he faced when looking to replace Kyle Walker at right-back – a long-standing figure of his all-conquering machine at the Etihad Stadium.

“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,” said Guardiola.

“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.”

Asked whether there had or have been any discussions surrounding replacing Walker through the transfer market, Guardiola continued, “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. In that terms it’s fine. But I don’t know yet.”

But the pressure to succeed Kyle Walker can be prevalent for some, but Guardiola has insisted upon the need for the likes of Nunes, Khusanov, and Lewis to build their own futures at Manchester City, instead of trying to replicate a former star.

“Kyle has his abilities, his skills as a player and these ones have another one. I said many times I would love to have Vinny [Kompany] here, or maybe the old players that helped us a lot. I would love it. But it’s happened.

“When the moment decides, ‘I want to leave, 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,” said Guardiola.

He continued, “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 competition one game a week, three a week it’s completely different – the teams, the clubs. 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.”

Looking ahead, Pep Guardiola’s words suggest a measured approach rather than an urgent transfer-market push, having been linked with exploring natural right-backs such as Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento in particular.

But Guardiola’s backing of Nunes and Lewis – who both stepped into the role last season – shows faith in internal solutions, while Abdukodir Khusanov’s emergence also provides a timely boost after his arrival last winter.

Much will depend on consistency across the campaign, with John Stones having struggled with fitness problems, while Nunes adapting as a makeshift full-back remains an evolving experiment.

For Rico Lewis, the coming months could define his role in the squad hierarchy too, having impressed more as a central and attacking midfielder rather than in the right-sided full-back position.