It’s evident that it takes a lot to impress Man City manager, Pep Guardiola, who seems to demand perfection in every aspect of play from his first-team squad.
A taskmaster himself in the way he prepares for games and structures work across the season, it can’t be said that Pep’s methods don’t work because only Liverpool in 2020 have stopped them winning the Premier League title since 2018.
The one issue, as Julian Alvarez has found out, is that game time is at an absolute premium if you can’t dislodge those players in front of you.
Pep Guardiola very happy with 21-year-old ace
That precise scenario has led to the Argentinian World Cup winner moving on to Atletico Madrid, but his switch to La Liga does free up another place in the first-team squad.
Elsewhere in his selection pool, Guardiola has the likes of James McAtee knocking at the door, and he’s impressed his manager to such an extent that a new contract will be forthcoming.
?? Manchester City are expected to offer new deal to James McAtee after his excellent performances in pre-season.
Talks to follow to bring him in line with other first team players, as Pep Guardiola’s very happy with McAtee. pic.twitter.com/bz7DNiOkMc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2024
According to CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, his excellent pre-season performances are what has helped secure him a new deal.
At only 21 years of age too, McAtee clearly has a bright future in the game ahead of him, and his challenge at this point is likely to be whether he can push his colleagues in the first-team hard enough so as to give Guardiola a real selection headache.
In raising the level of the squad, that can only be a positive for Guardiola and City as a whole, and certainly at this point they remain the team to beat domestically.
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