Pep Guardiola has claimed that a certain young player can play in Manchester City’s senior team.
It seems like Guardiola chose to take certain positives from his side’s latest defeat to Barcelona on penalties.
Ultimately, pre-season results do not necessarily have much of an impact on how a team will play when the actual campaign begins rather than helping the players on tour get in shape ahead of the season.
As a result, Manchester City’s three losses during their pre-season tour of the US should not be viewed as much of a concern.
One reason why Pep Guardiola considers this current pre-season tour important is to judge whether some of the young players are ready for first-team football.
Pep Guardiola makes fresh Nico O’Reilly claim after Man City get beaten by Barcelona
There is a massive gulf in class between academy football and the senior level. First-team football is extremely demanding, especially for a club of City’s stature from both physical and mental standpoints.
For a young player in particular, the jump to the senior side is expected to be a massive challenge.
However, Pep Guardiola feels Nico O’Reilly is one young player who can play in the first-team for Manchester City, as he scored for his side in their latest draw against Barcelona.
Guardiola said, as quoted by journalist Sam Lee: “He can play with us.”
The Catalan boss also stated: “Normally in the academy, all the players are [short] like Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb. Now, it’s nice to have [a tall youngster like] Nico [O’Reilly].”
“It’s the work of the academy, we are blessed.”