Pep reveals he’s a big fan of Palace’s wideboy Wilf
PEP Guardiola has confirmed he is a fan of Wilfried Zaha ahead of a summer when plans to recruit a top-class forward.
The City manager will make two additions to his Premier League champions, with a holding midfielder also on his wanted list.
Jorginho is among the leading candidates to replace the outgoing Yaya Toure, while Guardiola is considering a number of options to supplement his attack. Riyal Mahrez remains a target after City’s failure to push through a £60m deal for the Leicester winger in January – and Kylian Mbappe’s situation at Paris St Germain is being monitored.
Guardiola has also kept a close eye on Zaha throughout the season as the former United winger inspired Crystal Palace’s remarkable fight for survival.
City could face a fight from Tottenham for the 25-year-old, who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signing at Old Trafford, but failed to establish himself under David Moyes or Lous van Gaal.
Discussing the teams he most enjoyed watching in the Premier League during his appearance on Monday Night Football, Guardiola said: “Since the beginning I enjoyed Tottenham. Liverpool are magnificent – I suffered a lot against (Jurgen) Klopp in Germany.
“Last season Chelsea were outstanding, with five at the back and their movement.
“A lot of teams copy Antonio Conte.
“I like Crystal Palace, Zaha and other players.” FABIAN Delph’s England call-up was greeted with incredulity in some quarters.
One media outlet even described it as a ‘massive shock.’ Really?
This is a player who not only started 21 of City’s 38 Premier League games this season, but also made himself a key member of the team.
England boss Gareth Southgate quizzed City boss Pep Guardiola about Delph when the two men met after the Huddersfield game a fortnight ago, and Guardiola said it would be a ‘risk’ if he DIDN’T take Delph.
In one sense, and one sense only, can the Yorkshireman’s call-up be described as a surprise – in that he has not played for his country since November 2015.
When he was asked to fill in for Benjamin Mendy, after the £52m summer signing ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in September, a few eyebrows were raised.
Delph had been surplus to requirements in the summer, a midfielder who – due to a combination of injury niggles and the excellence of Pep Guardiola’s squad – was finding ANDRES Iniesta has appeared to confirm that a move to City was never on the cards.
The world-class midfielder confirmed last month that he is leaving Barcelona after 16 seasons at the club.
That announcement sparked speculation over his next move, and a reunion with former manager Pep it tough to nail down a place in the matchday squad, never mind the team.
In his second season at City – Guardiola’s first – he made just seven league starts, and at the end of the season, Stoke headed a list of underwhelming teams keen to sign him. Guardiola at the Etihad was mooted as City pondered their options for next season.
City’s manager called those reports ‘fake news’, saying that the Blues cannot offer the player what he had in Barcelona, and that he hopes Iniesta will return to the Nou Camp after the final part of his career in Asia in order to teach future generations.
The 33-year-old revealed that he
Delph stayed put, determined to prove there was much more to his game than City fans had seen.
Mendy’s unfortunate injury turned out to be a lucky break for the 28-year-old, who had been signed for a bargain £8m from Aston Villa in 2015.
Danilo, who was bought to cover both full back positions, proved far less adept on the lefthand side, so Guardiola turned to Delph.
Asked to dredge deep in his memory banks to the days when he occasionally turned out at left-back in Leeds’ youth teams, he approached the job with enthusiasm and professionalism.
The fact that Guardiola encourages his full-backs to sometimes ‘invert’ and become extra midfielders, was in Delph’s favour – he often finds himself in familiar positions.
His natural competitiveness, honed on the playing fields of Bradford, also lent itself nicely to the other side of the job, dealing with dangerous right-wingers. was in contact with Guardiola as he mulled over his options for the next career move.
However, a refusal to turn out against Barcelona – who City have played six times in the past five years in the Champions League – meant the playmaker would not consider moving to another European club.
“Pep [Guardiola] sent me messages yes, but there are some Riyad Mahrez took liberties with Delph early in City’s game at Leicester, but Delph rose to the challenge and blotted out the Algeria international for the rest of the game. By January, Delph was performing so well that Guardiola abandoned his plans to bring in a left-back in the transfer window – and instead tried to sign recent Delph victim Mahrez! Guardiola recently said: “He is a player who can play in different positions – when he plays, we always play good. “He helps us to play good football, to be better, to give an extra pass. And he has a good heart, he is a fantastic person.” Delph’s passing success rate this season has been 93 per cent, only bettered by John Stones, out of City’s regular performers. He has ended up playing more minutes, in a fabulous City campaign, than Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Vincent Kompany and Stones – and no one would question their right to be in their respective World Cup squads. Pep Guardiola on Fabian Delph reports that I don’t understand,” he said.
“I won’t play against Barcelona. My time in elite football ends at Barca. There are two scenarios, China and Japan – the best choice will be made.
“I hope I can make my decision official next week. One of the options is more determined than the other. I want this to happen before the World Cup.”