Josko Gvardiol debut moment might explain Man City's Aymeric Laporte transfer call

In the build-up to Manchester City's Super Cup clash with Sevilla, Pep Guardiola had suggested that he would wait to hand Josko Gvardiol a full debut due to a lack of training sessions with the team.

With a quick turnaround to Saturday's clash with Newcastle, Guardiola hinted that the trip to Sheffield United would be a realistic debut for the new man. Fast forward 24 hours and Gvardiol was on the teamsheet against Sevilla for his first start in sky blue.

It may seem like a sleight-of-hand tactic by Guardiola, but something significant also happened between the manager's comments and Gvardiol's debut. With John Stones not fully fit and Ruben Dias still unavailable due to concussion, logic would suggest that Aymeric Laporte would partner Manu Akanji at centre-back with Nathan Ake moving to left-back.

Laporte, though, could still leave City, and the club have accepted a bid from Al-Nassr for the Spaniard. With that in mind, any plans to give Gvardiol time were shelved.

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"Step by step. He still has to learn many things," said Guardiola before the match. "He didn't have much training. As much he plays, all the mistakes, he will learn."

Maybe surprisingly, Gvardiol started at left-back rather than centre-back, although with Guardiola wary of mistakes from his £77.5m signing, moving him out of the danger areas might have been wise. The initial touches from Gvardiol were smart, with the Croatian comfortable on the ball, using his quick feet to get out of trouble and get the ball forward down the line.

For a six-foot defender, Gvardiol moves with a lower centre of gravity than some of his teammates, and Guardiola will be encouraged by what he saw. His footwork