August 30th 2024.
It looks like Manchester City fans will have to wait a little longer to see Phil Foden back on the field. The young midfielder has been struggling with an illness and it seems like he won't make an appearance in this weekend's game against West Ham. His absence was already felt in last weekend's match against Ipswich Town, but there was hope that he would be fit enough to join the team for their trip to London.
Unfortunately, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed in a press conference today that Foden is still not feeling well. This means he will most likely be unable to play against the Hammers. Foden has only made one appearance so far this season, coming off the bench in their game against Chelsea.
Meanwhile, there are some positive updates for City's other players. Rodri and Mateo Kovacic were both doubtful for the weekend, but Guardiola announced that they are both much better now. This gives them a good chance of being included in the squad for the upcoming game.
But unfortunately, there are also some long-term injury concerns for the team. Norwegian player Oscar Bobb is still recovering from a broken leg and is not expected to return anytime soon. This has made the transfer window a bit quiet for Manchester City, with only two signings - Savinho from Troyes and Ilkay Gundogan who made a surprising return from Barcelona on a free transfer.
Guardiola has always preferred to manage a relatively small squad, and it seems like this season is no different. Julian Alvarez has already left for Atletico Madrid, while Liam Delap has joined Ipswich on loan. This has left the team a bit short on strikers, especially with first choice Erling Haaland being the only one available. Guardiola himself has admitted that this could potentially be a mistake.
He explained, "Maybe it's a mistake, I don't know, but I like to work with not a long, long, long squad. I don't like to leave a lot of players without playing for a long, long time. When you have a long squad with no injuries, they can stand for a month without playing, and I don't like it. When everyone is involved with a chance to play, the performance of the team is always better."
Despite these challenges, Guardiola seems content with the current squad and is confident that they will be able to perform well in the upcoming games. He also addressed the unexpected departure of Alvarez, saying, "We didn't expect Julian was leaving, well 'expect' I don't know because he had conversations for a long time with his agent, so it could happen. But always you think he's going to stay, but at the end it happened."
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