John Stones could start for Manchester City against Sunderland, says Pep Guardiola
By James Kilpatrick
New Manchester City signing John Stones could start against Sunderland on Saturday evening, says manager Pep Guardiola.
Stones completed his move to City this week in a £47.5m deal on a six-year contract and, before joining the club, was already undergoing pre-season preparations at Everton.
Ahead of City's first match of the 2016/17 campaign against Sunderland, Guardiola says the England international could feature in front of the home support.
"He's had a lack of time with us, but he reads the game. Ther are people who are intelligent and John is one of these," he said in his pre-match press conference.
"He is ready. I have a 80 or 90 per cent idea of who will be ready tomorrow. But I need to sleep on that. It's almost done. I need my dreams to take the right decision."
Although there could be a space for Stones in Cty's starting line-up on Saturday, there will not be one for £37m signing Leroy Sane according to Guardiola. The 20-year-old is not believed to be fit to play just yet.
Guardiola said: "Sane is not fit. He has not trained with us. But I think next week he will be able to,"
On a personal level, Guardiola is excited to make his Premier League debut but admits the challenges he faces at City are not as tough as those he had in his first season at Barcelona.
He said: "I am very excited. I am new. This is the first game so looking forward to it.
"No this is not the hardest test. The first one is always the hardest one, without that you don't arrive at the second one. I was given the Barcelona job after success with the youth team. Everyone is special but it is not the hardest one.
"In Germany it was always a big challenge, to learn German to speak with my players and the media.
"Now I'm in the Premier League, which is special. I know I will be judged on results but I am a lucky guy and will always be grateful to give me this opportunity to be here."
New Manchester City signing John Stones could start against Sunderland on Saturday evening, says manager Pep Guardiola.
Stones completed his move to City this week in a £47.5m deal on a six-year contract and, before joining the club, was already undergoing pre-season preparations at Everton.
Ahead of City's first match of the 2016/17 campaign against Sunderland, Guardiola says the England international could feature in front of the home support.
"He's had a lack of time with us, but he reads the game. Ther are people who are intelligent and John is one of these," he said in his pre-match press conference.
"He is ready. I have a 80 or 90 per cent idea of who will be ready tomorrow. But I need to sleep on that. It's almost done. I need my dreams to take the right decision."
Although there could be a space for Stones in Cty's starting line-up on Saturday, there will not be one for £37m signing Leroy Sane according to Guardiola. The 20-year-old is not believed to be fit to play just yet.
Guardiola said: "Sane is not fit. He has not trained with us. But I think next week he will be able to,"
On a personal level, Guardiola is excited to make his Premier League debut but admits the challenges he faces at City are not as tough as those he had in his first season at Barcelona.
He said: "I am very excited. I am new. This is the first game so looking forward to it.
"No this is not the hardest test. The first one is always the hardest one, without that you don't arrive at the second one. I was given the Barcelona job after success with the youth team. Everyone is special but it is not the hardest one.
"In Germany it was always a big challenge, to learn German to speak with my players and the media.
"Now I'm in the Premier League, which is special. I know I will be judged on results but I am a lucky guy and will always be grateful to give me this opportunity to be here."
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