Kompany injury puts Guardiola’s spending strategy in spotlight

Manager says City could not afford to sign Evans Captain ruled out for the visit of Klopp’s Liverpool

Pep Guardiola probably knew it would not be long before Vincent Kompany broke down again but even the Manchester City manager might have hoped to get more than three games out of his injuryplagued captain.

Barely a week after the transfer window closed, though, Kompany is crocked again, Guardiola’s worst fears have been realised and the wisdom of spending £220 million this summer without a centre-half among the recruits looks ever more perverse as City prepare for their first real test of the season at home to Liverpool this lunchtime.

There would never be a good time for Kompany to get injured, not least as no one can ever be quite sure when he will be seen again, but Guardiola would doubtless have liked to get the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s side out of the way before watching his defensive linchpin succumb to a familiar calf complaint on international duty with Belgium.

Liverpool have their own problems at the back – as Watford exposed in a 3-3 draw last month – and quite how Klopp saw fit to substantially strengthen his attack but not the centre of his defence is another case of curious logic. Yet even without Philippe Coutinho and the injured Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and new signing Mohamed Salah, fresh from demolishing Arsenal 4-0, should be licking their lips at the prospect of running at Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones, or a makeshift back three, on the break.

By way of defending City’s failure to recruit a centre-half, Guardiola claimed yesterday that West Bromwich Albion put a price on Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans “that we couldn’t afford at that moment”. Yet how does that add up when City offered £60million for Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez – half what West Brom wanted for Evans – despite already having an embarrassment of riches in attack that Guardiola, for now at least, does not quite seem to know how best to utilise?

“We are going to survive in that position,” Guardiola said of his central defence, talking like a man who had been forced to scratch around for bargains, not one who has spent almost £400million in a year. “It’s a pity for him [Kompany] and for us, for many reasons he’s so important. If [Eliaquim] Mangala had gone I’m pretty sure we would’ve bought a new one [centre-half]. Because he stayed, it made no sense to buy another. We cannot change 11 players. We have no regrets, no complaints. The club made a huge effort.”

Yet no one was talking about changing 11 players, just addressing those areas of the team where the need was greatest. In fairness, Guardiola might counter that there was a very clear need for Sanchez. He spent much of last season ruing City’s wastefulness in front of goal and, so far at least, that trend has continued this term.

Guardiola refused to rule out reviving a move for Sanchez in January but until then he must figure out how best to make City’s attack the sum of its expensive parts. For example, playing Leroy Sane, one of the league’s most exciting young forwards, at left wing-back, as he did against Everton, does not appear to be a solution. City’s forwards are so good that it could click quickly, perhaps even today, but Klopp’s Liverpool attack looks better