Guardiola Confirms Ederson And Ortega's Commitment To Manchester City Amid Transfer Speculation

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Pep Guardiola anticipates that both Ederson and Stefan Ortega will continue their tenure at Manchester City. He downplayed the club's interest in Espanyol's Joan Garcia. Last year, Ederson was rumoured to be moving to the Saudi Pro League but decided to stay with City until the 2024-25 season after discussions with Guardiola.

Ederson played 37 matches across all competitions last season, achieving 12 clean sheets, with 10 in the Premier League. His save percentage stood at 67.1%, making 54 saves from 79 shots on target and conceding 26 goals. Despite having only a year left on his contract, Guardiola seems content with the current goalkeeping setup.

Stefan Ortega also has a contract expiring soon. He featured in just 13 league games, securing three clean sheets and maintaining a save percentage of 64.7%. Despite their contracts nearing expiration, Guardiola expressed satisfaction with the goalkeepers during a golf event in Catalonia.

"We have spoken about the situation regarding squad planning, and the two goalkeepers we have will continue," Guardiola told reporters. This statement suggests confidence in Ederson and Ortega's abilities to meet City's needs for the upcoming season.

Manchester City has been linked with acquiring a new goalkeeper, including names like Joan Garcia and Porto's Diogo Costa. In LaLiga's 2024-25 season, Garcia made the most saves (146), while only Unai Simon (77.4%) and Jan Oblak (74.1%) had better save percentages among those who played over 20 games than Garcia's 73.7%.

Despite these links, Guardiola dismissed any serious pursuit of Garcia but acknowledged his talent. "Joan Garcia is a really good goalkeeper, but City are linked with 500 players in every transfer window," he said. He also mentioned hearing positive feedback about Garcia from Espanyol players at the golf event.

Guardiola praised Garcia as an exceptional player while reiterating that he remains an Espanyol player for now. The references about him are very favourable, indicating his potential as a top-tier goalkeeper.

The current situation reflects Guardiola's confidence in his existing goalkeepers while acknowledging external talents like Garcia without committing to any transfer moves.