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Pep Guardiola is considering playing a winger at the back in Sunday’s Manchester derby after being reduced to three available senior defenders by Manchester Cityinjury crisis.
The city manager could look for an unorthodox solution to the problem of lack of defenders as he suggested he could turn striker or midfielder Matheus Nunes into a back-up for the clash with Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji are all still injured, while Rico Lewis was suspended after his red card at Crystal Palace last week, so Guardiola can only turn Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and If Guardiol.
He could bring teenager Jahmai Simpson-Pusey back into the squad, but also wants to move a more experienced player further on.
And he admitted: “I don’t know what to do.” We have three and we’ll see what happens. Maybe a wing has to play fullback or Matheus can play fullback, or we can play five at fullback.
“We are thinking about what to do with the situation with only three centre-backs.”
Akanji, who has not played since the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, remains on the sidelines, with Guardiola adding: “He has had discomfort in his pelvis and is not feeling well. He made an incredible effort to play at Bournemouth when he and Nathan weren’t half as good and they played there. Manu is a strong player and so reliable, but he can’t be there at the moment.”
Guardiola has denied he wants to buy in the January transfer window, even as City have announced financial figures that give them money to spend. City made a profit of £73m last year, including a £139m profit on transfers, but the Catalan said his priority was to bring back the injured contingent.
“What I want is for my players to come back,” he explained. “I would desperately like to compete with the team we had at the start of the season.”