Guardiola clarifies concerns over Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus will not be eligible to make his Manchester City debut in this weekend’s Premier League game at Everton, the club have confirmed.
The Brazil international joined City from Palmeiras this month after a deal was agreed last summer but his registration has not yet gone through.
Club sources insist there has been no snag over the 19-year-old’s signing, contrary to some reports this week, but simply the administration process is taking time.
Paperwork is thought to be close to completion and the player could be available for next week’s game against Tottenham.
The matter may not have been a factor in Pep Guardiola’s planning in any case with the manager having consistently said it would take Jesus a few weeks to reach match fitness.
Guardiola was asked about the situation at his latest press conference.
“He cannot play,” he said. “Papers – when Palmeiras and the FA solve the problems he will be able to play.”
On the positive side, Guardiola did confirm that captain Vincent Kompany was back in contention after two months out with a knee injury.
He said: “He has trained. The last two or three days he was a full part of the training session, so he is back.”