SUNDERLAND MAN CITY BRAVO TO ZERO?
Don’t you believe it, says Zabaleta MOYES: PICK SHOULD STICK WITH US
PABLO ZABALETA believes Manchester City’s fans will change their mind on calamity keeper Claudio Bravo – and end up saluting him as one of the greats.
The no-nonsense defender and cult hero at the Etihad has given his unequivocal backing to the Chilean whose regular bloopers are turning him i nto a l aughing s t ock elsewhere.
The latest gaffe came during the midweek FA Cup defeat of Huddersfield where the £17million capture allowed an early Harry Bunn shot to slip between his legs.
Pep Guardiola’s side eventually romped to a five-goal triumph but their evening was made far more difficult by Bravo.
It has now reached the point where his own supporters are cheering if he makes a save – but Zabaleta is convinced that, given time, Bravo will silence the doubters.
He said: “He is one of the greatest goalkeepers. He won the title in Spain with Barcelona and won the Copa America with Chile. But moving from La Liga to the Premier League is sometimes not easy.
“So we need patience. We need to give confidence to him.
“The players and manager are 100 per cent sure what Claudio is as a goalkeeper and that is the most important thing. We all need to support him – the players and fans.
“He is one of us and I just wish the Manchester City fans would give massive support to him. “We also know that goalkeeper is not an easy position. You need confidence and Claudio is not a regular starter at the moment because Willy Caballero has been playing most of the games recently.
“We know he is a great goalkeeper and his distribution with his feet has been fantastic.”
Zabaleta (below) is uncertain about what DAVID MOYES has told Jordan Pickford he can still be England’s No.1 if he stays with Sunderland.
The Black Cats boss is braced forf summer bids for Three Lions Under-21 goalkeeper Pickford, regardless of whether the club pull off another great escape from relegation. Everton are the the future holds in store. His contract expires at the end of the season and there has been no communication to say that it will be extended.
He added: “There is no news of a contract. I’m 32 but I still feel young.
“I said to Pep when we sat down face-to-face last summer that I was struggling with injuries and I couldn’t reach my top performance.
“I underwent surgery on my ankle – and now I feel good. I’ve not played all the games – but I’m ready when the manager decides.”
Zabaleta was on Inter Milan’s wanted list. The Italians had a second nibble two months ago and may yet be an option in June.
Fantastic
The Argentine added: “A few clubs were interested in signing me but obviously it was a new manager and I needed to sit down and talk. “I was told he wanted me to stay – and that for me was fantastic because I have been at City for so long and I have really enjoyed it. “I was honest after the surgery. I didn’t knowkno how I would respond, but I’ve on only had one injury, when I had st stitches in my foot after a kick against Barcelona. “There have been no muscle problems and no lih ligamenthave felt fantastic. problems and I “I can’t say anything a about my future now. But I am not getting any yo younger so I need to make sur sure that my decision is the correctcorr one.” latest to target Pickford (left), who has also attracted interest from Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
The 22-year-old made his comeback in Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat at Everton after two months out with a knee injury.
And Moyes insisted: “We have no interest in selling Jordan.
“I’ve said many times that, on the road to building clubs, sometimes you have to sell people. But I would hope it’s not Jordan because he has really been exceptional for most of the season.
“That’s why I think most people are looking at him as one of the brightest, up-andcoming, young talents around.
“But the best thing for Jordan is to keep progressing and what he has done here is show he can become an England goalkeeper playing for Sunderland.”
Moyes’ side host Manchester City today, and he compares Pickford to England keeper Joe Hart, who suffered rejection when Etihad boss Pep Guardiola let him join Torino on loan.
“I hope Jordan goes on to have as good a career as Joe – he’s been a really good keeper,” Moyes added.