Guardiola Admits Risk in Not Replacing Alvarez, But Confident in City’s Options

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that the club took a risk in not signing a replacement for striker Julian Alvarez, who joined Atlético Madrid this summer. However, Guardiola expressed confidence in the team’s existing attacking options. Despite Alvarez’s departure, City made limited changes in the summer transfer window, bringing in Brazilian midfielder Savinho and loaning James McAtee back from Sheffield United. Guardiola stated, ‘We weren’t expecting Julian to leave, although there had been discussions with other clubs and his agent for some time. So, it was possible that it would happen, and it did.’ He added, ‘We have seen what we have if we get a lot of injuries, that would be a problem. But, in the next few months, Oscar Bob will return from injury, as well as Phil Foden in that position. McAtee can play there, and so can Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.’ Guardiola concluded, ‘Maybe they’re different from Erling Haaland, maybe that’s a mistake, I don’t know. But I don’t like to leave players without playing time for long. When everyone has the chance to play, the team performs better.’