Pep Guardiola issues brutal response to comparison between Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham star

Manchester City manager has shutdown comparison between Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski during a media conference this week.

Questions surrounding the pair emerged as the Swedish playmaker played an integral role in Tottenham successfully overcoming the challenge of Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

First-half goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were responded to by Matheus Nunes for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were ultimately unable to add to their scoring output and exited the League Cup in the earlier stages once again.

One player who has continued to be absent from the Manchester City matchday squad is Kevin De Bruyne, who maintains presence in first-team training but feels as though he is continuing to lack match readiness and is not wanting to take any risks on his fitness.

Speaking at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Manchester City’s 2-1 exit from the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola was questioned whether Dejan Kulusevski is similar to Kevin De Bruyne after a strong performance once again from the Swede.

“No. Nobody is like Kevin,” Guardiola insisted.

“In his prime? The amount of things that Kevin produces in a game, nobody can do it!”

An update was also provided on the fitness of De Bruyne after the contest, with Pep Guardiola believing that it is unlikely the 33-year-old will return to any sort of match action before the international break in November.

Alongside the Belgian international, there is also a belief that Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish will not feature in that same time, in addition to Jeremy Doku alongside lengthier absentees in Oscar Bobb and Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri.