Sergio Gomez could be on his way out of Manchester City this summer, with Pep Guardiola considering a permanent transfer or loan deal for the 22-year-old, but what a misstep the club made with his signing.
After Benjamin Mendy was suspended and Oleksandr Zinchenko was sold, City needed a tried-and-tested left-back to be a regular this season. They opted against bringing in Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion and trusted Joao Cancelo to keep impressing in the makeshift role.
Gomez was meant to be his understudy, picking up sporadic appearances in cup competitions and getting minutes in Premier League games if his performances in training warranted it.
He would come off the bench in league games City had wrapped up and started in favourable Champions League group matches, but he’s not had as many opportunities in the last few months – 5/7 PL appearances between August-October, 0/11 PL appearances between November-February.
The Spanish U21 international hasn’t progressed under Guardiola and has been dropped from the matchday squad for their last two league outings. He’s played 12 times across the board but amassed 580 minutes, so his signing looks a mistake.
Guardiola can’t trust him in the league (0 starts) and is now another left-back down after Cancelo joined Bayern Munich, so City are very short in his position. It looks unlikely that Gomez will be in the first-team next season, so Pep might need to sign two replacements.
In other news, Joao Cancelo burned bridge with Pep Guardiola despite ‘not a departure’ claim
For more Manchester City news and opinion, please follow our Vital Football page on Facebook – Vital Man City. Click the link and get involved!
Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score