Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that he isn’t worried by the slow start made by Riyad Mahrez since his move to the club this summer.
The Premier League champions were long admirers of the former Leicester City star before finally getting their man this summer in a transfer worth a reported £60m.
Mahrez – who already has a Premier League medal to his name following the Foxes’ historic title win back in 2016 – hasn’t had quite the impact many were expecting following his move to Manchester.
The Algerian has only started two out of five league matches this season and is also yet to score or provide an assist for any of his new teammates.
However, Guardiola has stressed that sometimes it takes time for a player to adapt to a new club and he is certain it won’t take too long before the playmaker proves his worth on the pitch.
“Sometimes we need more time,” said the City boss to reporters (via the Mirror).
“It has happened a little bit with Riyad. It is going to happen in the future.
“Riyad is going to come back the same like we saw when he was with Leicester and with Bernardo right now.
“In the beginning it was a little bit difficult for Bernardo. He came from France — and even for me [when Guardiola arrived in 2016] I needed a period to know, to understand everything about the way we wanted to play and in the way that we are aggressive without the ball.
“That is why I like to work with these kind of players. They always try their best. For 20, 60 or 90 minutes, all the time they play with a smile.”
Manchester City’s next Premier League fixture is against Cardiff City this Saturday with the Citizens currently sitting third in the table behind Chelsea and Liverpool. Before that, the club take on Lyon in their first Champions League group match on Wednesday night.
The post Guardiola unfazed by Mahrez’s slow start to life at Man City appeared first on Squawka News.
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