Agbonlahor suggests behind-the-scenes bust-up at Man City amid Phil Foden ‘body language’ claim
Gabby Agbonlahor has suggested Pep Guardiola may be juggling behind-the-scenes “problems” at Man City after the recent omissions of Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker.
The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the Spaniard’s “strange” press conference comments could be an indicator of trouble at the Etihad Stadium.
Foden, Cancelo and Walker are all yet to start in three games since the end of the World Cup in Qatar last month.
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News after City’s 1-1 draw against Everton (31 December), Guardiola appeared to dig at the trio – insisting “you cannot play good when the body language is not correct”.
The former Bayern Munich boss claimed “sometimes you choose the players for how happy they are”.
He has also publicly humiliated “overweight” midfielder Kalvin Phillips in recent weeks following his return from the World Cup.
Man City face Chelsea in London on Thursday (5 January) with the opportunity to cut Arsenal’s Premier League lead to five points.
Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Is there a problem with the body language of these three – Foden, Cancelo and Walker?
“Usually Pep never leaves them out twice in a row. It doesn’t make sense.
“Man City are a top team, but these three are a huge part of that. For them to not be playing is very strange and bizarre.
“Maybe there’s problems we don’t know about at Man City. Pep seems to have been coming out with more and more strange comments since the World Cup.”
In other news, pundit issues two-word verdict on Premier League rivals signing Kalvin Phillips after source’s reveal.