Pep Guardiola plots major positional change for Manchester City star that could see centre-back move into midfield | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is plotting a bold positional change for one new member of his senior first-team squad, just months after signing the player.

The Catalan coach has been forced to rethink his strategy one various occasions during the ongoing season largely as a result of an influx of injury and fitness problems hampering his Manchester City squad roster.

Long-term issues concerning Oscar Bobb and Rodri, as well as lengthy matters involving Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, were further added to by a whole host of fitness problems concerning a large part of his defensive unit.

As such, recruitment bosses within the club were forced to bring forward much of their plans for the 2025 summer transfer window, as they welcomed in four new faces into Manchester City’s squad during the January market.

Among those new arrivals were two central defenders to ease the burden on the likes of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol at a time when Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and John Stones were all struggling for full fitness.

And while there was a hugely encouraging start to Abdukodir Khusanov’s life at the club, Vitor Reis has seen his opportunities somewhat limited, although a new report has indicated that Pep Guardiola may have had a very different plan in mind for his new Brazilian signing.

According to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, Manchester City’s South American January recruit is being allowed to ‘take his time bedding in’ and understandably ‘needs space to grow into’ new surroundings.

The report remarkably quotes sources who have also suggested that Guardiola was hoping to look at Vitor Reis as a defensive midfielder in the club’s Under-21s. However, the injury crisis in defence meant the Brazilian was required more in the first-team squad.

Reis has featured just four times for Manchester City’s senior squad and youth outfit since arriving at the midway point in the campaign, completing 135 minutes of action in two appearances in the FA Cup and a solitary minute in the Premier League.

For the club’s Elite Development Squad, Vitor Reis did make his Premier League 2 bow during the final weeks of the campaign as he completed 90 minutes in defence as part of a 2-3 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

Reis’ Brazilian teammate and Manchester City’s number one goalkeeper, Ederson has spoken highly of the teenager’s talents as he said in a recent interview, “Vitor is very talented with a very promising future. We talk every day, always together; me, him, Savinho, Matheus Nunes.

“He’s very promising. It’s difficult to put a 19-year-old defender straight into the Premier League, especially at Manchester City. But he’s already played a few games and performed very well. I see him as a great future for City’s defence.”