Pep Guardiola has no doubt Manchester City can cope with the loss of Joao Cancelo after he left to join Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the season.
Cancelo was surprisingly allowed to leave the club to move to the Allianz Arena on a temporary basis on the final day of the January transfer window on Tuesday.
Bayern board member Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed the switch may be made permanent after the initial loan spell, with a €70million (£62.7m) purchase option included in the deal.
Previously integral to City with his ability to play both full-back roles and in the midfield, Cancelo started more Premier League games than any other City outfield player (36) last season as they won the title, having more touches (3,908) and attempting more passes than anyone else in the league (2,951).
But he had fallen out of favour since the World Cup, with manager Guardiola preferring the likes of Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, John Stones and even 18-year-old Rico Lewis for the full-back roles.
Stones, Guardiola confirmed ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham, will be out for around three weeks with a hamstring injury.
But Guardiola is not concerned about a lack of depth at left-back following Cancelo's departure.
"First, I wish him the very best in his four months [at Bayern]. Next season I don't know what happens," said Guardiola.
"An incredible figure in the last two leagues we won. After the World Cup, we make a pre-season and decided to play, in some patterns different. I like what I watch. I give more time to other players.
"His personality, mine, he loves to play. He trains the best, the situation he doesn't play much. In the last years one of the players with more minutes. He needs to play to be happy, so we decide to let him go to Munich.
"He wants to play every single game and hopefully he can in Munich.
"If Bayern Munich want Joao it's because he's an exceptional player. I won't say a bad word, his work ethic, passion, skills. Everyone knows it. It happens one or two days before the window.
"Always I'm pleased with the squad. Being not sure, it's better to have the money in the bank and don't be criticised to spend more."
Cancelo made his debut for Bayern in a 4-0 win over Mainz in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday, providing the assist for their 17th-minute opener.
Asked if the club had explored signing a replacement, Guardiola replied: "We talked, but took three minutes. I said do you have something, [director of football] Txiki [Begiristain] said no. I said wait.
"We could go to the market and pay huge amount of money. I prefer a few months until the end of the season. We can do it without. In the summer we see.
"We can handle the situation in all departments. I trust the players.
"If I had the feeling, I'd say to my bosses we should do this. With [Manuel] Akanji, I said we should have another central defender. Nathan was injured, Ruben [Dias] too, John. We had this opportunity. In this case completely different."
ISSA Champions Cup draw sets up thrilling matchups
The stage is set for another thrilling chapter of schoolboy football as the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Champions Cup draw, conducted at SportsMax Studios on Tuesday, revealed a series of captivating matchups.
Chief among the fixtures to kick off this weekend’s quarterfinal round is the clash between reigning champions Glenmuir High and former champions Kingston College, as the tournament, which brings together the best from the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup competitions, promises fierce battles and a showcase of young talent.
Glenmuir High have been in impeccable form this season and are high-riding favourites to go all the way in the daCosta Cup. To begin their Champions Cup defence against Kingston College (KC) will certainly test their mettle, but they have so far displayed that they possess enough quality to overcome any challenge.
According to assistant coach Johnoy Chambers, Glenmuir, now making their fourth Champions Cup appearance, are riding high on years of developmental work.
“What we are doing at Glenmuir is just continuing the hard work we’ve been doing for the past three to four years. Being here is very important to us because the school strives to be the best both on and off the field," said Chambers.
Kingston College, a nine-time participant and winner in 2019, brings a legacy of dominance and is hungry to reclaim their place at the summit of schoolboy football.
In a historic clash, Ocho Rios High will make their second Champions Cup bow against debutants St Catherine High. Ocho Rios have been in good knick this season and will aim to continue that run of form, but St Catherine, under the stewardship of veteran coach Anthony Patrick, are determined to make an impact.
Patrick, a two-time Manning Cup-winning coach with Bridgeport, expressed pride in his team’s achievement.
“It’s a joy for me to have a team here. We’ve been building well from preseason, and it’s now coming out on the field. We are going to give it our best shot," Patrick declared.
In another interesting clash, Hydel High will mark their fourth appearance in the Champions Cup when they face Garvey Maceo, who are no strangers to the tournament with six appearances.
Hydel, known for their resolute defence and quick transitions, will be eager to stamp their authority on the competition. However, Garvey Maceo are seasoned campaigners, and their current crop of players will look to rise to the occasion in this encounter.
Meanwhile, Jamaica College (JC), a nine-time participant and 2022 Champions Cup winners, are peaking at the right time and, as such, will start favourites in their encounter against McGrath High, the reigning Ben Francis Cup champions.
Jamaica College’s decorated history speaks for itself, and members of Davion Ferguson’s current unit are seasoned in high-stakes matches. Still, they will be relying on tactical discipline to continue their rich history, while McGrath, buoyed by their recent cup triumph, will look to continue their upward trajectory.
Champions Cup Fixtures
Hydel High vs Garvey Maceo
Ocho Rios High vs St Catherine High
Jamaica College vs McGrath High
Glenmuir High vs Kingston College
Wales promotion 'hasn't sunk in' for Bellamy after 4-1 Iceland win
Wales secured promotion to League A after beating Iceland 4-1 at home in their final Nations League group match, having gone a goal down early on.
Their victory, alongside a 3-1 defeat for Turkiye away to Montenegro, means that Craig Bellamy's side topped their group by a point.
"The feeling hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's been a real positive camp Whatever the result of this game, it's just been a positive camp," said Bellamy after the match.
"The targets we set right from the start, I feel we've been able to achieve."
Wales started the day knowing they needed to win and for results to go their way to top the group, but went a goal down after seven minutes after Andri Gudjohnsen followed up from a Danny Ward save.
It was the first goal Wales had conceded at home in 321 minutes and the first time they had been behind under Bellamy, but they responded well. The hosts managed to control the rest of the half, with Lewis Cullen scoring twice in the final 15 minutes of the first period.
The determination of his team to stick to the plan was something that pleased Bellamy immensely.
"There were one or two tests today that I feel we've been able to progress [through]. If they had happened one or two games ago, we might not have been able to.
"Where we're at, you go 1-0 down in the first few minutes and you get a performance like that.
"Then after that, when the crowd get a little bit edgy and try to force things for us... No, no. We keep the ball because we believe that's going to benefit us, and the players were able to do that."
In the second half, Wales were able to dominate and bagged goals from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson to make things more comfortable.
"I thought we took control of the tempo of the game and we're a good team if we're able to do that," said Bellamy.
On promotion itself, the Wales manager could not overstate the importance of being able to mix with the biggest teams in international football in Europe.
"For where we want to be and where we want to go, it's huge. It's so important for us," he said.
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Netherlands: Koeman's side wrap up group stage campaign with away draw
Netherlands ended their Group A3 campaign in the Nations League with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Stadion Bilino Polje on Tuesday.
Ronald Koeman's side, who had already secured their place in the quarter-final heading into the final group fixture, finished with nine points - five fewer than group winners Germany.
Brian Brobbey gave a second-string Oranje the breakthrough in the 24th minute when he headed home a cross from Noa Lang following a short corner kick.
But Ermedin Demirovic scored on the rebound, after Edin Dzeko's initial effort was stopped by goalkeeper Mark Flekken, to help Bosnia salvage a point in the 67th minute, as the hosts finished bottom of the group with two points.
Earlier, Dzeko's shot was cleared off the line by Jorrel Hato in the first half and the Bosnia captain also had a goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up just past the hour mark, before Sergej Barbarez's side found the leveller.
Data Debrief: Bosnia's spirited comeback
The home side ended the first period without registering a single shot on target and only creating an expected goals (xG) of 0.54, compared to the Netherlands' xG of 1.29.
But they were a much-improved side after the break as they restricted the visitors to zero shots on target while recording three of their own to secure a point. They ended the second half with an xG of 0.46, which bettered the Netherlands' xG of 0.37 despite being lower than their first-half effort.
Prior to this fixture, Bosnia and Herzegovina had lost all four of their 2024-25 Nations League matches in which they were losing at half-time. But they fought back this time to end their League A stay with a draw.
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