Keeper dilemma stumps Guardiola despite support to James Trafford, saying decision on No 1 ‘depends on many reasons’.
Guardiola ‘here to help’ Trafford at Manchester City but unsure on keeper to face Brighton.
James Trafford needed consolation following his error against Tottenham last week, according to Pep Guardiola, who has not yet determined if the Manchester City custodian will start against Brighton on Sunday.
Guardiola is considering recalling Ederson, who was on the bench, after Trafford was widely attacked for his role in the second goal in the Tottenham loss. The Brazilian, who has always been Guardiola’s number one, was substituted against Tottenham after missing the team’s victory over Wolves on the first day. Guardiola stated that a final selection decision on the keeper will be made on Saturday.
“Always have arms around the shoulder, always,” the manager said. “We take care of them. What happened didn’t belong just to James, what happened in the second goal against Spurs. He’s a huge personality. He’s concerned – I wouldn’t like it if he wasn’t – but we’re here to help him. We’re here to support them.”
Asked who will be No 1 in the long term, Guardiola said: “All the clubs, before the international transfer window is closed, everything is possible. It’s as simple as that. After that, we’re going to play [Manchester] United and Champions League and Arsenal. After everything will be more clear and now we take a decision. It depends on the performance and it depends on many reasons.”
Most of City’s players will leave for international duty following the trip to Brighton before coming back for the match against United at home on September 14. It will mark the beginning of a busy time for City, as Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sané will be returning to the team for their Champions League games against Real Madrid, Napoli, and Galatasaray.
“I will have the honour to be the manager of more games played in Bernabéu,” Guardiola said. “So, yeah, nice to be in Spain again. Kevin and Leroy, I’m really pleased they came back here and of course we have to beat the two teams like Napoli, Galatasaray, but it’s nice to bring him back and I’m pretty sure that we have a great welcome to them because they deserve it.”