Guardiola calls for new rules on signings amid keeper crisis

PEP GUARDIOLA has called on the Premier League to loosen its rules on emergency signings outside the transfer window after his struggles to find goalkeeping cover in the past few days.

The Manchester City manager lost Claudio Bravo to a long-term Achilles injury this week, leaving him with no experienced back-up for Ederson, his first choice.

Aro Muric, the Montenegro Under-21 international, has been recalled from a season-long loan at Dutch side NAC Breda to act as second choice, with youth graduate Daniel Grimshaw the other senior keeper in the squad.

City were left short of cover, having sold Joe Hart to Burnley and Angus Gunn to Southampton before the English transfer window closed on August 9.

With the champions unable to recruit a goalkeeper registered with another club until January, they were left with the option of signing a free agent, with Diego Cavalieri, formerly of Liverpool and Crystal Palace, one possibility.

However, they would still have needed permission from the Premier League to register a free agent to play, and there is no guarantee that would have been given. Guardiola, though, feels the rules were not helpful to City, and, asked if they should be looked at, said: “Yes. Not just for goalkeepers but for when there are big injuries to players. If we had not been allowed to bring back Aro, I don’t know what would have happened.

“But the rules are the rules. Maybe the federation can think about that when there are long -injuries and it is still the period where the European window is open. Then maybe you could do it.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)

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