London: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola feels he might have unearthed a gem of a player in Gabriel Jesus after the young striker’s virtuoso display in Wednesday’s 4-0 Premier League win at West Ham United.
The 19-year-old, who joined at the start of January from Brazilian side Palmeiras, scored one and assisted on another on his first start for his new club.
“You never know. It’s like a watermelon. You have to open to see if it’s good or not. The prospect was good. Jesus is a fighter with instinct for the goal,” Guardiola told British media.
“He has dreams about what he wants to do in his future career. He wants to become something in world football, and we’re going to try to get it for us.” Jesus’ rise might have come at a cost for Sergio Aguero, who was benched on Wednesday despite being fit, but Guardiola said the explosive Argentine striker remained firmly part of his plans.
“Aguero is so important for us. He knows and everyone knows we cannot succeed without his contributions,” Guardiola added.
“I sit with my staff and we take the decisions, and it depends on the performance of the past. In this crazy calendar it is impossible to play with the same players all the time.” City, who are fifth in the league after 23 games, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea, host relegation-threatened Swansea City, in 17th, on Sunday.
Gabriel Jesus opened his Manchester City account in a 4-0 stroll at West Ham United on Wednesday that sent his side level with fourth-place Liverpool in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s team took full advantage of slip-ups by the other teams in the leading pack on Tuesday to move level on points with Liverpool, 10 points below leaders Chelsea.
“Gabriel Jesus is a fighter with an instinct for the goal,” beamed Guardiola of his £27 million ($33.6 million) recruit from Palmeiras. “He’s good at assists too.”
Guardiola made two bold selection choices at West Ham’s London Stadium, dropping goalkeeper Claudio Bravo for Willy Caballero and keeping City talisman Sergio Aguero on the bench.
And it worked as the visitors streaked into a 3-0 lead inside 39 minutes through goals by Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and 19-year-old Brazil starlet Jesus.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 17th minute, picking up a loose ball and exchanging passes with Jesus before sweeping a first-time shot into the bottom-right corner.
Leroy Sane created the second goal four minutes later, neatly nutmegging Sam Byram and slipping past West Ham debutant Jose Fonte before squaring for Silva to convert at the back post.
Jesus then opened his account with a delightfully constructed goal, slotting in after Sane’s through ball had been steered across goal by Raheem Sterling.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic gave Robert Snodgrass his debut as a 64th-minute substitute following his move from Hull.
But three minutes later Yaya Toure made it 4-0 from the penalty spot after Sterling was clumsily fouled by Fonte, sealing a second convincing win for City at West Ham after last month’s 5-0 FA Cup romp.
“We played a front three with an average age of 20. I like the fans to be excited,” Guardiola told BT Sport.
“Those players are the future of the club. They will be important players for the next few years.”
