Manchester City defender left ‘disgruntled’ after losing place in starting XI

The emergence of Rico Lewis in Manchester City’s first-team set-up and starting eleven has certainly had an impact on both performances of the team and the feeling in the camp.

The 18 year-old full-back – who often operates in a deep-lying midfield role when in possession – has been a shining light during a largely difficult period for Manchester City following the FIFA World Cup.

Recent results have seen Pep Guardiola’s side retain a significant deficit on a points front to Arsenal – who continue to lead the Premier League title race – and crash out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage to Southampton.

However, City have begun to improve drastically over the more recent matches, securing wins over Tottenham, Wolves, and Arsenal across the Premier League and the FA Cup, lifting the spirits amongst both supporters and players.

Nevertheless, given the competition for places and some players retaining high levels of performance in recent weeks, some individuals have been left unhappy with their game time or missing out on starting line-ups as a whole.

One such name is Kyle Walker – as reported by The Athletic this week, as part of a new, in-depth coverage of the feeling within Pep Guardiola’s squad and where such feelings leave them in relation to the upcoming summer transfer window.

Sam Lee reports that the 32 year-old right-back is one of the players that manager Pep Guardiola had referred to recently, when cryptically discussing ‘body language’.

It is further highlighted that Kyle Walker has been ‘disgruntled’ at losing his place in the Manchester City team since returning from England duties at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

With that being said however, it is made clear that ‘things have improved recently’, and clarifying that there is no similarity between Walker’s recent mood and the situation that ultimately led to Joao Cancelo joining Bayern Munich on deadline day.

The Portugal international put pen to paper on an initial six-month loan deal with the reigning Bundesliga champions, but the Munich club hold an option to buy the City defender at the end of the ongoing season, should he perform to a level that warrants an investment at the €70 million price mark that Etihad officials have outlined.

There is an expectation in various quarters that Cancelo will not make a return to the football club this summer, and as such that has left Manchester City requiring to once again seek an investment at left-back – a position that has caused problems for large parts of the Pep Guardiola reign.

Elsewhere, there is a feeling that central midfield and the wide-attacking positions will also be a major focus of Manchester City’s transfer work this summer, with groundwork being put in place for some of their more priority targets.