PEP’S ROLLED DICE...

I WATCHED with a mixture of shock and awe as Pep Guardiola binned off Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich at the end of the window.

Shock, because it means he’s going without a senior full-back on one side for the rest of the season, preferring to give youngsters Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez a chance.

And awe, because it showed, once again, the City boss (above) has decided the needs of the team cannot be disrupted by one individual.

There is no doubt something happened behind the scenes. So I’m pretty sure it would have been to maintain team spirit.

I don’t know what Cancelo has done, but the Spanish coach has a long track record of acting swiftly and decisively when he sees influences which upset his finely-tuned sense of a welloiled machine.

Nothing can ever be allowed to get in the way of his cherished team spirit – most certainly not ego. Zlatan Ibrahimovic found that out the hard way at Barcelona.

If it is for the good of the team, it’s a brilliant move. It will send a message, even to the biggest superstar at the Etihad, that it’s Pep’s way or the highway.

It does leave City a little bit exposed though. Lewis is an exciting prospect but he’s 17. Gomez is a bit older but has only played a handful of games at this level.

City’s defence has already been a bit dodgy this season, and if it’s true that things are not all well with Kyle Walker, they could be vulnerable.

But Guardiola is prepared to do the tough thing in the short term in the best longterm interests of his team.

That said, City have conceded too many goals by their standards this season – and you wonder how they’ll stop that flow.