Pep Guardiola has talked about his players injury while considering that Manchester City may not welcome their representatives in the 2024 European Championships final back to training until after the Community Shield.

The Premier League champions have seen their first Euro 2024 stars return to the squad this summer, with Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic linking up with the rest of Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad in New York City this week.

The Croatian duo saw their adventure at the European Championships end at the group stage, and as such their three-week holidays have enabled them to play a big role in Manchester City’s four-game pre-season tour of the United States.

However, it is widely believed that the duo will be the only players to come away from the European Championships and play a part in the US tour, with the remaining first-team players being granted extended breaks and return dates of August 5 ahead of the Community Shield.

There does remain the problem of Manchester City’s Euro final stars, with four players going the length of the competition in Germany and subsequently being subject to individual conversations over when they can return to action at the City Football Academy.

Speaking to reporters in New York City on Friday night, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on whether any further players could be joining up with the Manchester City squad on their pre-season tour of the United States following their end-of-season holidays.

In direct response, the 53-year-old admitted, “No, I don’t think so. Everyone has joined us back. I’ll give extra days when we come back to Manchester.”

On the subject of his four players starring in the recent European Championships final, Pep Guardiola continued, “As late as possible. I said to them, come back when you are fine, when you want to come back, when you have a desire to touch the ball again.

“If you don’t feel it, stay at home, because it \[the season\] is so long. So what I’ll guess will be, I don’t know, before the Community Shield, a few days before, or after the Community Shield. This is the plan. We have to rest them. Premier League, UEFA, FIFA don’t think about them, so we have to do it as managers.”

Rodri’s remarkable performances for both club and country, as well as claiming the Euro 2024 title and Player of the Tournament prize in Germany, has now thrust him into the conversation over the upcoming Ballon d’Or prize.

As such, the Spaniard may be granted the lengthiest of the summer breaks, and Manchester City may deem it necessary to allow him to miss the Community Shield meeting with Manchester United, returning for preparations ahead of the Premier League opening weekend.

As for Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Phil Foden, the Three Lions duo may be in a similar situation to Rodri, however some may decide to return early to fully overcome their disappointment at the final hurdle in Germany against Spain.

According to Football London, Man City will consider letting Julián Álvarez leave if an offer were to arrive for him in the region of £60 million this summer.

The Premier League champions signed the Argentina international for £14 million from River Plate two-and-a-half years ago.

Apart from Chelsea, Atlético Madrid have also been linked with the 24-year-old.

Julian Alvarez wants to leave #ManCity but may find himself priced out of a move. Both he and his family would welcome a move to a warmer climate and he wants more game time at @ManCity, who are asking for roughly £60M plus around £17M in add-ons.

[via @SamLee]

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) July 25, 2024

Despite arriving at City with a lot of fan fare, Álvarez has failed to nail down for himself a guaranteed spot in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI, though he has been prolific whenever called upon.

On the international stage, however, things couldn’t have been better for him, as at 24 he already has two Copas América and one World Cup medal to his name.

In two seasons at the Etihad Stadium, Álvarez has produced 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 appearances across all competitions. He currently has in place a £100k-per-week contract at City which is set to run until June 2028.

A move Chelsea should make

Given their recent travails, it is very hard to advocate for Chelsea making any move going forward, though Álvarez calls for an exception.

Alongside Erling Haaland, despite being stylistically a better fit for Guardiola, Álvarez was always going to find game minutes hard to come by. Yet he has clearly demonstrated his ability to be able to play for any top team in Europe.

A multi-faceted forward, Álvarez has the ability to immediately solve Chelsea’s goal-scoring problems in the centre-forward role while also bringing into play their other star forwards like Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku. Given his age and profile, £60 million is almost a bargain.

Several clubs, including #Atleti and #PSG, are said to be circling #MCFC for Julian Álvarez.

The Argentinian attacker scored 11 #PremierLeague goals, including nine non-penalty goals, in 2023/24.