“Not much” – Pep Guardiola confirms future of uncertain Manchester City starlets following Ilkay Gundogan signing | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has confirmed the respective futures of some of Manchester City’s rising young talents in the club’s first-team squad, in light of Ilkay Gundogan’s arrival.

The German midfielder completed an emotional return to the Etihad Stadium last week, just one year on from ending an initial seven-year spell with Manchester City by joining FC Barcelona on a free transfer.

Precarious financial circumstances at the Camp Nou club meant that Gundogan’s position within the squad was deemed surplus to requirements in order to save on his salary package and improve chances of registering new signings with La Liga.

With Manchester City on the hunt for new defensive midfielders and versatile options for the centre of the park throughout the ongoing summer transfer window, the availability of Gundogan – who knows the system so well – was deemed a no-brainer.

But some supporters have been left wondering what the 33-year-old’s arrival could mean for some of Manchester City’s existing options, especially those newly-promoted from the Academy set-up.

Speaking during a recent press conference after the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona, Pep Guardiola reassured Manchester City supporters and those directly affected within his first-team squad of their futures remaining at the Etihad Stadium despite the signing.

“Everyone stays here. We do not have the depth of squad, we have 19, 20, 21 players. So not much,” Guardiola said. “Young players like Nico (O’Reilly), and now the situation of Oscar (Bobb) until December, January he will not be here with us, so nothing changes.”

Guardiola continued, “There’s a lot of games and everyone has to fight. The impact will depend on how he plays. If he plays good, the impact will be good, if he plays not good, the impact will be not good. So we know him a little bit.

“As a manager, I’m not a big, big fan of re-signing players with this age, I’m not a big fan of that. But I know quite well Ilkay, and I know quite well his mentality is in the right position, a huge competitor, and with the financial situation for the transfer, he left for free, he came back for free, so that’s normal.

“We talked about that and we said, ‘OK, we can do it’. And if we can, because the negotiations between clubs is not my business, and the salary as well I don’t know, if it happens but we have to try.”

James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly impressed throughout pre-season alongside star name Oscar Bobb, who was a shining light in the goalscoring category with his key involvements in goals, assists, and overall performances running through until and including the Community Shield.

Unfortunately for the latter of the trio, the Norwegian international is expected to be ruled out until towards the end of the ongoing calendar year, after a freak training ground accident left the 21-year-old with a fractured bone in his leg.

Oscar Bobb has since undergone surgery in Barcelona and is set to return to Manchester and the City Football Academy for further rehabilitation and recovery, with a view towards returning to training ground action during the opening weeks of December.