MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City team may start the season “not ready” as the club still have to offload several players before the transfer window closes.
City, who have 31 senior players, are in Sicily for a friendly against Palermo tonight without Jack Grealish, Stefan Ortega and James McAtee – three players who are expected to leave the club in the near future.
Everton are among the clubs interested in signing Grealish, while Nottingham Forest are leading the race to sign McAtee.
Guardiola also hinted that Rodri’s role in the opening weeks of the season may be limited.
“We need a smaller squad. I don’t like a squad that is too big, a lot of players have to leave.
“The transfer window is moving fast, a lot of things will happen. We will see and try to manage it as best as possible.
“The team’s mood is the same as during the Club World Cup. We may have missed a few friendlies to prepare, so the first three games against Wolves, Spurs and Brighton may not be perfect.
“But we chose to focus more on training sessions than playing matches,” said Guardiola.
Rodri, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol were also left out of the second pre-season trip to Italy, with all three still not fully fit.
Rodri has returned to training after suffering a groin injury in the Club World Cup defeat to Al Hilal, but City are cautious about his recovery.
Guardiola expects the Ballon d’Or winner to only be fully fit after the September international break.
“Rodri is getting better but his injury is quite serious. He has been training better these days, and I hope after the international break he will be really ready.
“Maybe in the early matches he can play a few minutes, but the important thing is that he is free from pain. We don’t want him to come back and get injured. He is not ready to play 90 minutes,” he said.