Gabriel Jesus has featured in seven of Manchester City’s eight Premier League games, often playing a full 90 minutes, but AS (h/t Sport Witness) say Pep Guardiola no longer trusts him as a natural centre-forward – he wants Erling Haaland to replace Sergio Aguero rather than the Brazilian international.
Jesus joined City from Palmeiras for £28.8m in 2017 and has gone on to make 204 appearances in all competitions, scoring 85 goals with 38 assists.
The 24-year-old impressed in his first couple of seasons at the Etihad Stadium, scoring seven goals from 10 Premier League games in 2017/18 and 13 goals from 29 Premier League games in 2018/19, but he was underwhelming last season and often went lengthy periods without registering.
Jesus scored just two league goals between August and December, scored just two league goals in January and February and scored only two goals in April and May. It’s no surprise why Guardiola doesn’t trust the Brazilian, but it raises questions over his long-term future.
If Jesus can’t be guaranteed a place in the team, will he stick around? He’s operating on the right currently and has competition from Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Ferran Torres and Phil Foden, so this may be worth keeping an eye on.
In other news, Man City battling Newcastle for £25.4m man with two goals since 2019