Why Aguero is right to fear for his Manchester City future

The club insist he will not be sold and Pep Guardiola says he is central to their plans, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.

 Pep Guardiola says publicly that Aguero is a major part of his plans. Aguero says publicly he wants to stay and, privately, that has always been his intention.

The club themselves are adamant that Aguero is not being sold this summer, and stress that he will benefit from added competition.

So why does Aguero feel that City could yet decide there is no place for him next season, as he admitted for the first time on Sunday?

Is it because of media reports - like this one - suggesting all is not well behind the scenes? That's certainly a popular idea among supporters and it's true that footballers can have doubts planted in their minds by constant stories in the press.

But if that were the case, would City’s desire for him to stay not have been relayed to Aguero by now? Wouldn’t steps have been taken to allay the fears of one of their most important players? Perhaps this message could have been passed on, for instance, at a meeting between the striker, his chief agent and Guardiola himself.

That exact meeting took place less than three weeks ago at a Manchester restaurant, yet on Sunday afternoon Aguero accepted a rare post-match interview request and said on three separate occasions, under no duress to do so, that he feels the club may no longer want him.

As has been the case for months now, there is something going on.