Pep Guardiola’s City v Ipswich press conference | Premier League

Good afternoon Pep I think you know where we're starting The return of Ilkay Gundogan how happy are you that he's back Yeah a lot Most of the time once the transfer window is closed anything can happen This is the real proof so it was a complete surprise unexpected and you know it happened We know him quite well personally but the staff and the players and everyone And you know the quality he showed last season in Barcelona he played at a high level showed consistency played a lot of minutes games and produced a lot We had no doubts but the possibility remained open And yes absolutely delighted that he's back I was going to say was it a no-brainer when Chiqui put the idea to you that Gundogan could come back was it an easy yes from you Yeah Is his role going to change this time Now he's a year older or have you found a solution in your squad Of course he's no longer a teenager but the reason we decided to give him the chance is because of the level he played at last season His performance last season did not meet the level we expected him to deliver Maybe you have to think about it but even the Euros playing with a national team under Nagelsmann played really really well too He knows what we want to do he AV doesn't need to adapt He knows the city he knows the club the maids and the way we want to play So we'll be settled right away I guess that's good and that's why we could do it and we did portal Have the players voted for their leadership group yet Because Ilkay was captain so would you expect him to be back in that five No no I don't know Ilkay said in his interview upon returning just how important your role as his manager was He was obviously so successful here He said you're one of the best managers if not the best manager in the world How does it feel when a player comes back to the club and speaks so highly of you I appreciate that but the important thing is that he wants to come back Chiqui got a message from Chiqui so Ilkay I want to talk to you I want to call you He called me and asked about my situation whether I would like the chance to come back and we said yes immediately So this is the most important thing I know we are here and he has to deliver a good season a good two seasons here This is now what you have to work with I had the feeling he isn't here to retire or to reminisce about the good times we had We have time to create good memories in the future but now it's time to you know get to work and give your best Forty-four home games unbeaten such a great mood after obviously the first win and then also the re-signing of Gundogan How excited are you for this first home game of the season It's switched down that's the only thing I'm concerned about Two teams have promoted the league one from the Championship to the Premier League with the same manager and clear patterns It was the team in the first game of the season for all Premier League the most intense team You know that is the only thing I'm concerned about right now I know and understand that Ilkay is a highlight today but since I'm standing up for this room it's switched down that's the only thing I'm concerned about Talking to some of the other players Savino picked up a slight knock and knee injury during his debut He was back training midweek where is he in Measure his recovery and will we see him on Saturday Savino Yeah he's feeling better I don't think he's completely back to full strength but yeah he did part of the training and he's developing really well We will see today and tomorrow what we are going to do with him Hi Pep One of Ilkay's quotes was that the package that Man City offers these days is nowhere else Does that surprise you It's a privilege for all of us yeah It's an honor to know these words because that means the package represents the city represents the club the club represents everyone Something you've said many times about how comfortable the place is to work but it's different when someone goes to a club like Barcelona and comes back feeling the same way So you can see that out there it's different I spoke a little with Ilkay and he had incredible things to say about Barcelona about his experience there for the city for the people there and for the players He offers us incredible alternatives in the way we want to play he adapts perfectly to 2-3 roles he knows everything he doesn't need time to settle If he has to play tomorrow he knows everything which is why it's comfortable for us and I know his mentality is always in the right place he doesn't come as I said before let's go into the last two years which are completely different Hi Pep it feels quite sentimental with Ilkay coming back another one of your former players is also available how likely or possible is it that Raheem Sterling might be an option Do you think there's a chance you might want to bring him back to Manchester City as well He's a chassis player absolutely a chassis player I know I feel so attached to the time we spent together with Raheem and of course I feel attached to Enzo so I just wish him all the best but he's of course a chassis player If you ask me this question when Gundo is in Barcelona I will give the same answer There's one week left in the window with Gundo coming in as a big reinforcement but are there chances or how likely is it that you'll get anyone else in do you think in the next week Can I just ask about Rodri because I didn't see him at training midweek how is he He's getting better Is he back with the group yet No he's not with the group Maybe today we'll do some=no= partial training but it's still not good So not for the weekend I don't think so but we'll see today Now at training at three we'll see Just a quick one with Elkay will he be involved in the squad tomorrow Yeah maybe we need the paper Alex told me you can say it to the guy International player International some paper but if arrived in the last day yeah maybe we'll be available