You usually talk sense, mate. But this post is not of your best ones. You have to put every word into a context - Pep 'raved' KdB after him literally raping Dante and winning 3-0 with 2 goals. What was Pep meant to say that night? "Oh, I don't really rate that red f'cker, it's all about my shitty hairy Brazilian"? And several months earlier Pep had hailed Dante, so what? Pep always speaks highly about other sportsmen, be it players or coaches. The only one who once had managed to cause Pep's outburst was the Portuguese rat, but it's a whole different story.
Replace 'KdB' with 'Bony' in this sentence and change the sum. See what's happened?
So, don't read too much into all those rumours and interviews. It's only what happens on the field matters (I'll quote my post from 'pep's tactics' thread, if you don't mind):
No, you have missed the quote from Pep regarding DeBruyne as a player in the Bundesliga, in general, when he moved to City.
'Speaking ahead of Bayern’s trip to Wolfsburg in the German Cup, Guardiola, who won 14 major trophies in four years as Barcelona manager before moving to Bavaria, said: ‘How De Bruyne played over 18 months at Wolfsburg was madness'
And reports such as:
'Incoming Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has already had input on at least one of the club’s transfers, according to Spanish newspaper
El Confidencial.
The report claims director of football Txiki Begiristain sought out Guardiola’s opinion before pressing ahead with the £55m deal to sign the Belgium international last summer.' which matches up exactly with the reports people were getting over here.
Of course not every signing was made with a view to being a mainstay in Pep's team, Pellegrini has to be allowed some transfers, but it's pretty obvious Pep was in the loop & that the ones who we signed for 50 mil who haven't even reached their peak yet, were signed with a view to playing under him. No point in signing players like that for a manager who you know, is out the door, & fucking about with their careers in the process, when you could easily sign someone else instead, who both managers would be happy with.
It's obvious that is the case & was obvious when various people were saying the same about Sterling. Clearly Pep wanted both.
Now if DeBruyne starts chucking his toys out of the pram when asked to do different roles, that will be a totally different matter.
But watching him sprinting back at fullback to rescue City's defence when we were going through a bad spell, will not be seen as a weakness by Guardiola. Nor will his part in all 3 goals. It's also telling that DeBruyne was put straight into the team, when clearly behind on fitness, yet others, such as Nasri, had to do extra work. Now DeBruyne will lose his place to them in Pep's first 11 ? Not a cat in hell's chance.
Unless there is a personality clash, DeBruyne will be at City long after Silva etc have gone. Possibly long after Pep has gone.
He is one of the best players in the world & will be one of City's top performers this season, & already is. And Pep knows it, that's why he asked for him.