Pep Guardiola will be making a big statement if he drops Sergio Aguero again for tonight’s game against Bournemouth.
The Manchester City boss has favoured 19-year-old Gabriel Jesus in favour of the two-time Premier League title winner since the Brazilian arrived at the Etihad last month.
There would be no shortage of suitors if Aguero were available this summer, but it seems the club have not yet made a decision on the striker’s future.
Even Guardiola admits he isn’t sure if the Argentine will still be a City player next season, quoted via the Sun:
“I don’t know what is going to happen. Sergio knows the intention of his manager and the club.
“I don’t want to sell him, I want him to stay here for a long time until he decides.
“When Sergio was banned for seven games we missed him a lot. I know his level and I know what he’s done for this club.
“But even in my career I didn’t know what would happen at the end of the season.”
Such a cryptic answer isn’t going to do much to reassure Aguero. On current form, though, it’s impossible to drop Jesus, even if Aguero has scored 11 goals in 15 games this term.
With Guardiola alluding to his ban earlier this season, you have to wonder if the forward’s lack of discipline has had an impact on the manager’s thinking.
Two suspensions for violent conduct in a matter of months don’t cast the 28-year-old in a favourable light, and perhaps Guardiola sees the young Jesus as a player he can mould.
Either way, Aguero has to make a statement if he is thrown on against Bournemouth, or it could start to spell the end of his City career.
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