‘Aloof Guardiola should have Man City worried’ – James concerned about Catalan coach’s future

Pep Guardiola “looks slightly aloof” at Manchester City, says David James, with the former Blues goalkeeper “worried” that the Catalan coach may be taking in a long goodbye.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has already made a stint at the Etihad Stadium the longest of his distinguished managerial career to date.

City would like him to stay on beyond the summer of 2021, but no extension to an expiring contract has been agreed as yet.

Guardiola has remained coy on his future plans, with many expecting efforts in the Champions League to dictate whether he stays on in his current post or not, and uncertainty continues to reign.

James fears that the 49-year-old may already be planning his departure, with a charismatic character looking a little withdrawn of late.

The ex-City keeper told Stadium Astro on the back of a 1-1 draw with fellow title hopefuls Liverpool: “Pep’s future is in question.

“When I watched his pre-match interview, he replicated that in the post-match interview. He looks slightly aloof.

“This is a guy like [Jurgen] Klopp who can break the game down. Klopp said it very cleanly what he thought the game went like, even where they made mistakes, whereas Pep is ‘they scored, we had a penalty, should have won’ and it’s a little bit distant.

“When such an intelligent man who doesn’t mind talking the truth starts speaking in coded word, then I start getting worried about Manchester City.”

Guardiola is not the only prominent figure at the Etihad to be seeing a deal run down.

City’s all-time leading goalscorer, Sergio Aguero, is in a similar position and James admits that the Blues should be starting to draw up plans for life without the prolific Argentine striker.

He added, with it possible that a leaf could be taken out of Liverpool’s book when it comes to the piecing together of a new-look attacking unit: “I think with Aguero, his age is going against him.

“The fact that he had the injury at the end of last season, which might be a continuation into this season.

“The fact that Manchester City have got to find a replacement – [Ferran] Torres could theoretically take his place alongside [Gabriel] Jesus because there will be a different dynamic when Aguero goes.

“City will have players who can do that – [Phil] Foden is another and if anything Man City start becoming more like Liverpool than they were using Aguero as that focal point for their attack.”