City boss Guardiola tells Gareth that Delph would be Fab in Russia
Pep Guardiola has told Gareth Southgate that Raheem Sterling is in the form of his life ahead of the World Cup – and that he needs to find a seat for Fabian Delph on the plane to Russia.
The England manager sat down with the Manchester City boss at the Etihad Campus on Friday, and was given a glowing report on those two, along with Kyle Walker and John Stones.
“We spoke together about the English players and Gareth is delighted with all of them,” says Guardiola.
“With Raheem I’m very pleased with the way he’s developed. I think he has had a fantastic season.
“Hopefully he can maintain it for the national team at the World Cup.
“His stats are the top in terms of assists, goals and his influence in our attacks.
“I always feel that he can do better. But in terms of mentality and belief, he can now say: ‘i am good!’.
“He has made a good step forward from last season and we’ll see if he can maintain that level next season, when we start again from zero. I think he can do it.
“He is smart, intelligent and is so fast that he’s quicker than his opponents. Because of that sometimes people say he is diving and when they say that others start to believe.
“In my opinion he is an honest guy, but he has to learn to handle it when that happens.
“I learned from the best players in the history of football, who never complained on the pitch.
“They get kicked, stand up and go. The next action is the most-important thing.”
Guardiola knows that it might be perceived as a risk to take Delph, who can play either in midfield or at left-back, to Russia on account of his injury record during his two seasons at City.
“Maybe it will be a risk not to take him,” says his Spanish boss.
“He is an exceptional player who can play in different positions. He helps us to be better.
“And he has a good heart. He is a guy for the group, which you need.
“His only problem is the injuries. Our
dream for next season is that he’ll be more regularly fit. We will be working on that.”
Today, after the game against Huddersfield, Vincent Kompany will lift the Premier League trophy for the third time in six years.
Guardiola acknowledges the Belgian’s huge contribution to the club’s success in the last decade, but warns that with his own poor recent injury record and a year left on his contract he will have to continue proving his worth.
“When he’s fit, he is one of the best central defenders I have seen in my life,” says the City boss.
“When you win three Premier Leagues you have to talk about a serious player, because it is not easy to win one, never mind three.
“That’s why I will be proud to have a picture with him.
“But his problems are a bit similar to Fabian’s.
“Right now we have the same feeling as we had last season, when we finished with seven wins in a row and he played all the games.
“We thought he was back, but then at the start of this season there were problems. Hopefully next season that won’t happen.
“With Vincent it depends on his physical condition. I think he will be honest with himself to say whether he is ready to play regularly. When you play eight, ten times in a season it’s not very much.
“We hope he can play a lot longer because we need him.”