Pep Guardiola makes Manchester City’s Savinho stance clear with Oscar Bobb admission | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Oscar Bobb after his side’s Premier League opening day triumph away at Wolves at the weekend.

City made a strong start to the new season as a brace from Erling Haaland and debut strikes from Rayan Cherki and man-of-the-moment Tijjani Reijnders secured a dominant 4-0 victory at the Molineux Stadium.

After making six new signings this summer and conducting a mass exodus of last season’s side that secured a disappointing third-place Premier League finish, Manchester City seem to have their mojo back as they aim to win a fifth league title in six seasons.

Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Scott Carson were all shown the door this summer, with Jack Grealish and Vitor Reis joining Everton and Girona on loan. Claudio Echeverri is set to move to Bayer Leverkusen on loan for the season, with Manuel Akanji and Ederson attracting interest from Galatasaray.

James McAtee completed a £30 million move to Nottingham Forest at the weekend and Guardiola has called on Manchester City’s director of football Hugo Viana to sanction further departures before the September 1 transfer deadline.

City are awaiting the return of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri from injury, with Oscar Bobb enjoying an impressive FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States and subsequently retaining his starting place in recent wins over Palermo and Wolves.

The 22-year-old Manchester City academy graduate struggled for fitness last term and recurring injuries got the better of the Norway international, who is staking a strong claim to be Guardiola’s starting right winger amid competition from Savinho and Jeremy Doku.

Bobb was at his best against Wolves on Saturday, winning the ball back and driving through the Wolves backline to set up Reijnders for Manchester City’s second, before the young winger played a give-and-go with City’s new midfield arrival in the buildup to Haaland’s second in the second half.

Guardiola has been delighted with what he has witnessed from Bobb since his return to fitness at the back end of last season, with the academy graduate going from strength to strength and leaving no stone unturned so far to challenge for a regular starting spot amid a period of transition at the Etihad Stadium.

“Now I realise when I saw him (Bobb) in the first half, even the second, how much we missed him last season,” Guardiola raved over Bobb after the win against Wolves.

“He (Bobb) is a guy who (doesn’t) need too much, he’s like Phil (Foden), in a few training sessions with physicality, he’s sharp, quick and yeah, I’m so happy he’s back.

“I don’t know since how long he (Bobb) didn’t play 90 minutes in the high level, maybe one year! He’s so strong, so disciplined in defensive issues and in the small spaces. He’s an incredible threat. Hopefully he can be healthy.”

City will face each of Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal in the next month and Guardiola is hopeful of Bobb maintaining his fitness and leaving behind the injury frustrations that derailed him from playing a meaningful in the first-team setup last season.

“(The) only (thing) I ask for him (Bobb) is to be healthy, be strong in his head, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to help us in that position, even more in the interior position,” the Manchester City manager added.

“He (Bobb) is another quality player in the academy that for the last decade has been unbelievable, how much amount of good players this club has created, for the incredible managers we have in the academy – and I have the feeling that right now, the second team in the EDS have still really good players too.”

With Savinho being linked with a move to Tottenham in the final weeks of the transfer window, Bobb’s resurgence will provide a huge sigh of relief to Guardiola and his coaching staff as they look to challenge on all fronts this campaign.