Should Pep Guardiola be worried about Gabriel Jesus’ itchy feet at Manchester City?

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Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus has given an interview in which he expressed his desire to play more regularly for the club.

The Brazilian currently plays second fiddle to Sergio Aguero, who is one the Premier League’s all-time great strikers.

So far this season Jesus has six appearances and scored three times, but he’s only started two games – both of which he scored in.

The form of Aguero has made life difficult for the 22-year-old and the 2017 signings from Palmeiras appears to be frustrated.

In an interview with Esporte Interativo, he said (translated by The Mail): “I’m over the ‘I have to wait’ phase. I’ve been here for almost three years, it’s my fourth season, and that makes me want to play more.

“Obviously it’s very hard to compete for a place with Aguero, the biggest legend of this club. I do understand Pep’s decisions and respect Sergio, his history here and what he’s doing now.”

TBR’s view

Guardiola has responded to the comments saying he understands Jesus’ frustrations, but he has a problem in that Aguero is just an outstanding footballer.

The 30-year-old is still one of the best strikers in the world which makes things particularly difficult for Jesus.

The talented Brazilian probably deserves to start games more often – his record of 14 goals in his last 12 starts is nothing short of brilliant.

It may be within Guardiola’s interests to try and give the Brazilian what he wants as Jesus leaving could be a big regret.

Perhaps a partnership could be the way forward, although that would be a risk given how ruthless City are with their 4-3-3 formation.

Already a brilliant player with a great goals record, Jesus is still some way off his peak and could potentially be world-class some day. Perhaps he feels he’ll reach that level sooner if he is starting games elsewhere.

As he says, he has been patient for a long time so Guardiola should be somewhat concerned.