Pep Guardiola has warned captain Vincent Kompany he has a fight on his hands to regain his starting spot in the Manchester City defence when he is fully fit.
Kompany, 30, has been sidelined through injury since picking up a groin injury against Real Madrid at the start of May.
The Belgium international is nearing a return to full fitness but Guardiola has told the City captain he will not walk straight back into the team.
“The players must compete with each other,” BBC Sport quote Guardiola as saying. “We’ll see on the pitch what is best for each game.
“I know Vincent’s quality. I need him to put press on John Stones, Nico Otamendi and Kolarov. They have to know if they don’t play good that there’s another one beside me and the next time he is going to play.”
City have been marginally better in the Premier League without Kompany in the starting XI (55.2% win rate) since the start of last season compared to their success with him in the team (53.8%).
For more stats on Vincent Kompany, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
