DESPITE all the signs pointing towards Yaya Toure following boss Manuel Pellegrini out of the exit door at the Etihad at the end of this campaign, the current Manchester City manager believes the midfielder’s future is in his own hands.
As the Sunday Express reports:
Manuel Pellegrini insists that under-fire Yaya Toure will decide his future in the summer – but only after playing a big part in Manchester City’s assault on the quadruple.
The Etihad boss said: “He has received a lot of criticism because maybe this season he doesn’t score the 20 goals he scored the first season I was here but we must not be unfair. “I think that Yaya has a lot of football left. It depends what he wants to do in the future. Maybe he’s not 20 and can’t go box to box for 90 minutes and to play three games a week. He’s a different player but he has a lot of quality, he has a lot more football to give. It will be his decision where he will do it.”
Given that the incoming manager, Pep Guardiola, was the man who sold the Ivory Coast star from Barcelona to the Premier League club while he was in charge at the Spanish giants, that would appear most unlikely.
It looks certain that Toure will once again find himself surplus to Guardiola’s requirements. While still capable of surging bursts forward and spectacular goals, at 32 years of age his best years are certainly behind him.
Toure has always been one of those players that moves a lot faster going forward than getting back to defend and Guardiola will be keen to make a fresh start.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing off the pitch but we think, while Toure has been a tremendous servant to City and has been instrumental in their rise to the top of English football, it’s time to let him go.
Do City supporters agree? Or does he still have something to offer the side under the new regime?
—–
Football Advisor – Predictions worth listening to
