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Does Sergio Aguero have a place at Man City under Pep Guardiola?

Does Sergio Aguero have a place at Man City under Pep Guardiola?

If ever Pep Guardiola was in any doubt over the fundamental task on his hands the boos heard at the Etihad Stadium with every backwards pass or even sideways pass underlined it. Manchester City are a work-in-progress and the progress they are making is minimal having gone five games without a win.

Indeed, Guardiola came to England to be tested and that is exactly what he has faced over the past few weeks. Sunday’s home draw against Southampton, or more pertinently, the reaction to it proved that not only does he have the Premier League in general to convince of his ways of methods, but his own fans as well.

Sergio Aguero has become the embodiment of Guardiola’s philosophical struggle. His struggle to adapt to the new Man City manager’s ways are reflective of his team’s as a whole, with the Argentine dropped for last week’s Champions League humbling at the Camp Nou. Guardiola isn’t sure of Aguero and Aguero isn’t sure of Guardiola. In truth, Man City as a whole isn’t yet sure of Guardiola.

They hired the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss to make tough calls, to elevate them to the level of his own personal standing as a coach, but not even the Abu Dhabi owners who conducted his interview could have envisaged that those tough calls would have caused such turmoil.

By exiling Joe Hart and Yaya Toure, as well as dropping Aguero, Guardiola has taken on arguably the three biggest figureheads in Man City’s recent history. Only Vincent Kompany has yet to complete the spiral from club legend to sidelined this season. Guardiola is a man assured in his own convictions and he has wasted little time in underlining that.

As soon as Guardiola was announced as Man City manager back in February the conjecture started on who would adapt to the Catalan’s renowned methods and ideologies. Toure was always expected to struggle, given his lack of mobility and positional ill-discipline. The same went for Hart, who doesn’t possess the technical ability with the ball at his feet Guardiola expects from his goalkeepers.

But his treatment of Aguero is most compelling. The Argentine was seen as a player likely to adapt well to Guardiola’s methods, with all his wriggliness and comfortability in possession. At Barcelona Lionel Messi was Guardiola’s wildcard, breaking the rigidity of his otherwise well-drilled outfit, and Aguero was expected to be the same kind of player for the new man in charge at City. And yet Guardiola sees Aguero as a symptom of all that must change at the Etihad Stadium.

So could Aguero be forced out of City in the same way Hart was, and Toure will soon be? “When Sergio decides to leave City it will be his decision,” Guardiola sought to explain after last week’s defeat to Barcelona. “Next time you write this, that he is not in my plans, you can call me or Simon [Heggie, Man City’s press officer] - you may not have my number but you can call Simon - and we can explain what is the truth.”

Some of the reaction to Guardiola’s dropping of Aguero has been similar to that Jose Mourinho has experienced over his exile of Wayne Rooney at Manchester United. They say the Argentine deserves better, that his past achievements should safeguard his place at City. Of course, nobody should be guaranteed of anything in the Premier League. It’s sink or swim, even if you’ve been swimming better than anyone else for a long time.

And so Guardiola is within his rights to do whatever he likes with Aguero. But if the striker has no place in the future the Catalan coach envisages for City what precisely is the blueprint stuffed up his well-tailored sleeve?

At the Camp Nou he opted for a frontline of Nolito, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling. The development of the latter could provide the most captivating case study, with Guardiola seemingly intent on moulding him into the complete forward rather than the flaky winger he currently is. Unless Guardiola can lure Messi to the Etihad Stadium (which is doubtful) he might struggle to find a better player suited to his ideology than Sterling. Some might claim Aguero is in fact better suited, but Guardiola can’t see it. And if Guardiola can’t see it, it doesn’t happen.