Pep Guardiola has just ended player’s Man City career with cut-throat move vs Fulham
Pep Guardiola was in no mood to coddle players’ feelings ahead of Man City’s trip to face Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Man City narrowly beat Leeds United in their previous Premier League outing, seeing them remain five points behind league leaders Arsenal, only thanks to a late Phil Foden winner.
The Citizens have been plagued by injuries this season, with Rodri still sidelined through injury, who is joined by Mateo Kovacic, but that is no excuse for some of the awful results in recent weeks.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin got on the scoresheet for the Whites, and so too did form City player Lukas Nmecha, and the performance would have been scrutinised even further had Foden not made it 3-2.
Man City XI announced to face Fulham
With so many players for the manager to choose from, it is likely that he will end up with more frustrated stars than happy ones. That is unlikely to be the likes of Erling Haaland or Ruben Dias, however.
One player who was missing for the clash against Leeds was 22-year-old Oscar Bobb, and with plenty of rumours circulating around his future, or lack thereof, Guardiola has taken it another step.
The same team has shown up at Craven Cottage, meaning that exit-linked Bobb has been left out of the squad for a second game running, leaving him on just five Premier League starts this term.
Of course, with Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Bernardo Silva, and Rayan Cherki all to battle with for a spot on the flank, the Norwegian starting every week would be a surprise. But no involvement at all is rather concerning.
Oscar Bobb is nowhere to be seen after Leeds United absence
Mick Brown told Football Insider during the summer that both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Bobb, and those same clubs could be about to re-enter the race in January.
Lining up against the Cottagers, Doku and Bernardo were given the nod, pitting themselves against Kenny Tete and Ryan Sessegnon, with Guardiola clearly having his favourites.
Supporters are becoming more and more concerned about the situation surrounding Bobb, and after seeing the lineup announced to face Fulham, those worries will be even more pronounced.
It could just be a matter of time before the winger’s career at the Etihad is completely over, and if he’s allowed to leave next month, all signs will be pointing towards exactly that.