Gabriel Jesus says Pep Guardiola phone call was deciding factor in Manchester City transfer

As we get closer to the start of 2017, we also get closer to the Manchester City debut of one of the world's most promising players: Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus will join the Citizens in January, and he is ready to play and fight for his place on the side under Pep Guardiola.

In fact, it was Guardiola that convinced Jesus to join City on a £27 million deal this summer, and a phone call by the manager was the deciding factor in Gabriel's decision to play for the Sky Blues despite offers from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

“It was a complicated decision, but in the end my desire to learn won. The presence of Guardiola as a manager at City and the fact that it is a great club were very important factors in my final decision. Guardiola’s phone call was a huge part of me deciding to go there. It made me realise that I’d love to work with him. I don’t know him personally yet but he already made me feel very safe about his project there.”

Gabriel Jesus is one of the most prolific goalscorers in Brazil's recent history, but it is wrong to think of the 19-year-old as a striker that will try to take Sergio Agüero's place at City. According to Jesus himself, he wants to be a winger and will try to play in that position at City. But he wants to play for Pep so bad that he will play wherever his coach asks him to.

“I think I will fight for a place as a winger in the team I actually prefer playing as a left winger rather than a striker, but I just want to be very clear that I’m willing to play in either position. I am often prepared to give up a position high on the pitch and help out defensively because some good marking and tackling can result in a goal for my team in the end. I’d like to think that I’m a versatile player.”

Source: The Guardian