Josko Gvardiol has well and truly arrived at Manchester City, and Pep Guardiola has shared an extra step he took recently which shows the defender’s desire to improve.
The Croatia international starred in City’s 4-0 win over Fulham at the weekend, as he scored two goals.
Gvardiol has now taken his tally to five for the club, with all of them coming in the space of just over a month.
The 22-year-old has certainly found his feet now operating as a left-back.
It took him some time to adapt, which was always going to be the case coming from the Bundesliga as a young player. He is also, of course, a centre-back by trade.
But in the last few weeks, he has really taken his game to a new level. And it is little wonder why, because Gvardiol is a determined individual, and after the game with Fulham Pep Guardiola revealed an extra step he took recently to show this…
Josko Gvardiol came in on day off at Man City last week to prepare for Fulham clash
Gvardiol did have a few shaky outings at the beginning of the season.
One remembers the particularly hard time he had against Chelsea in the 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, after which the player actually apologised for his display.
But Gvardiol has kept his head down and worked hard, and we are now seeing the improvements.
He was among the nominees for both City’s and the Premier League’s April Player of the Month award, and his great form has continued into May.
Guardiola spoke about Gvardiol after the game with Fulham, and revealed he actually came in on a day off last week to prepare himself for the game with the Cottagers.
He said (via mancity.com): “After Wolves, we gave three days off to everyone and on the first day, he went into the training centre to make a recovery, so his focus is football and he wants to be better and better and when this happens, you have something special on your hands.”
Guardiola also offered some perspective about Gvardiol, with his first season with the club coming to an end. “You cannot forget it is his first Premier League season and he is just 21 so it is not easy to handle it and he struggled in the beginning a little bit,” he added.
“Because he came into a team who had just won the Treble and he was a little bit shy, maybe thinking ‘I don’t want to ruin the structure that they have and what they have done’ – it is a question of time.”
What a serious prospect Gvardiol is for Man City
City fans are rightly very excited about Gvardiol, after a string of fantastic performances over the last couple of months.
The former RB Leipzig man took some time to find his feet which was understandable, but now he is looking like a serious prospect.
It is hugely impressive to see a centre-back playing in this way. It’s remarkable to see a man of his size move so elegantly with the ball and show as much technical ability as he does.
Pep’s comments show that the £200,000-a-week man also has the mentality to boot. Gvardiol really does have all the ingredients to become a world-class player, and if he continues on like this, he will reach that level in no time at all.
