The toddler who helped Jesus back to his scoring best

FORGET about Pep Guardiola’s tinkering for a moment. Those close to Gabriel Jesus, have their own rotation policy.

They make sure the 21-year-old is never alone in his city centre flat. Three representatives take it in turns to have a stint in Manchester, to provide some company for a lonely striker who really needs looking after.

So to say Jesus has been off-colour solely because he is alone, his goals this past weekend were his first since August, would be to stretch the truth. Ilkay Gundogan and Guardiola are both in the same apartment block, for example.

Yet, when the family moved in for Christmas last week, everything changed. He was tigerish against Everton, and two poached finishes had Sergio Aguero nodding in appreciation from the bench. Man City won 3-1.

Family matters, the feeling of belonging matters, and the issues Jesus has clearly been facing provide further evidence, if we needed it, that these millionaires are humans too.

As revealed by Sportsmail, he was hurt when the visas of two friends expired in January. One, Higor, is back for the next couple of weeks and was beating his best mate at pool hours after the man-of-the-match performance. But it is the arrival of Jesus’s 2-year-old nephew Miguel that has perked him up more than anything else. Miguel had never previously travelled to Manchester and that was the sort of emotional boost Manchester City’s young Brazilian was desperate for.

Get Guardiola talking about the personalities of his players and he could speak for days. That Jesus conducted his post-match TV interviews in English did not go unnoticed.

“I don’t think he’s got a girlfriend, so to have his family here is so important and I think it’s going to help him,’’ Guardiola said. “His family will be so important to him. The effort Gabriel put in – he always does that. But what I also like is it’s the first I listened to him in the media speaking English. That’s cool.

“I insist on them having to learn English because sometimes I have the feeling he maybe doesn’t understand me. So it’s important to have that feeling that he’s speaking English much better.

Jesus is a livewire around the training ground, a prankster when the mood takes him and that should go up a notch over the festive period.

His mother Vera is here and has a staggering influence along with his brother. Half a dozen have made the trip from Sao Paulo.

“Many players who have the talent but are in bad, bad form – it is because of personal issues. That can influence things a lot on the pitch, more than people can imagine or expect, and sometimes we don’t know it.

“That’s why Gabriel has that feeling that, with his family here, he will be calmer, better. I could not live without my family. But I always had the feeling he’s a good lad in the locker room… he’s always chatting, laughing, making jokes.”

Guardiola has constantly praised Jesus in recent months, highlighting his work rate and link-up play. That is all well and good, but the City manager also recognised the need for goals.

That his conversion rate is 4% is a worry. That it is 508 minutes per goal is a worry. Aguero is the man and Jesus will continue to play second fiddle, although he might well be the best back-up in world football. Straying offside has always been a problem and those who know him say the issue has persisted since his days in the Palmeiras academy. That has been amplified during the barren spell and even here he was indebted to Yerry Mina’s sluggishness to play him onside for his first goal.

Jesus is too eager and the disallowed goal is testament to that. Had he not moved too soon, he could well have been presenting Vera with a signed match ball on Saturday night.

The only present she wants, though, is some quality time with her son.

City will reap the benefits. – Daily Mail