'Can tell' - What Guardiola said before Marc Guehi picked Man City over Liverpool FC transfer

Liverpool were waiting until the summer to sign Marc Guehi on a free transfer before Manchester City swooped in January

Pep Guardiola is delighted that Marc Guehi got Manchester City out of trouble in January as he hopes the £20m man can lift the Blues to a rare Anfield win that keeps the pressure on at the top of the table. Arsenal's win over Sunderland has moved them nine points clear and City know they cannot afford any more slip-ups after just one win from their last six Premier League games

Helping their cause will be Guehi, who was ready to sign for Liverpool in September after completing his medical before Crystal Palace blocked a move on deadline day. Arne Slot's team were ready to wait for Guehi's contract to expire at the end of the season, but a defensive crisis at the Etihad saw City pay a fee in January to sign him.

With Josko Gvardiol and John Stones injured and Ruben Dias having missed the last month, City's backline will be significantly stronger with Guehi. And while Guardiola counts just one win at Anfield in his time as Blues boss, Guehi won there as recently as October in a 3-0 win that is one of three victories he has picked up with Palace over Liverpool this season alone.

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Guardiola has been as impressed with the England defender off the pitch as he has on it in his first few weeks at the Etihad. His composure has been likened to Dias and captain Bernardo Silva and the manager believes he will excel at City for more than the five years he is contracted to them until.

Guehi has already passed Guardiola's first test by backing himself to come to City. It was a comprehensive pitch to the 25-year-old from the club that was driven by sporting director Hugo Viana, but Guardiola used his time with the defender to tell him to take as much time as he needed but to trust his own decision.

"I can tell them all the big things I believe the club has but they have to feel it," Guardiola said. "I always say when I speak to the players, ‘sleep on it with your pillow’ for as many nights as you want. You have to be convinced. Don’t come here if you don’t feel it.

"From outside they see the club and the way they play in terms of the team and afterwards the club. I tell them what I truly truly believe. I never say something I believe the club is not. We have very good things, there are things that maybe could be better - but it is a team that from our perspective has the chairman and the owner that always forward, to do better and we are still there, up there for as long as possible, for years and decades."

With Guehi's help, on Sunday and beyond, City will stay there.