The Chilean says the rumours surrounding the midfielder’s future throughout the summer were a ‘misunderstanding’
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says he never doubted the quality of midfielder Yaya Toure after a slow start to the season and a summer filled with rumours about his future.
Toure, who alongside his agent had hinted he would leave the club during the transfer window, had been criticised for some of his performances in the opening weeks of the current campaign, particularly following the 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The Ivorian scored the opening goal of his side’s 2-0 win at Aston Villa on Saturday evening, and Pellegrini says he retains full faith in the midfielder, who has also been grieving following the death of his brother.
“Yaya last season also played good games, some bad games, he scored so many goals that people talked about that. He knows the most important thing is that he must improve every game and I don’t have any concerns about him,” he told reporters.
“He is one of the best midfielders, without any doubt, he can have better games or not so good games, but he is a very important midfielder, but I never have any doubts about his performance.
“[The issue in the summer] was a misunderstanding of words, it’s not important. Maybe [he struggled] with personal problems but he didn’t have any problem with the club. He has a lot of different things in his private life but he didn’t want to go anywhere.”
The Chilean also dismissed the suggestion that Toure was more effective as part of a midfield three once Fernando had been introduced for striker Edin Dzeko.
“We played exactly the same way with two or three in the middle,” he continued. “We had so many chances, we were unlucky we didn’t score, but in the 90 minutes of the game, the team played very well.”
iam fans manchester city yaya toure please staying manchester city