Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that the Premier League champions have a buy-back clause on Gavin Bazunu should the Irish shot stopper 'explode' over the next year or two.
Bazunu left City earlier this year and has quickly established himself as first choice goalkeeper at Southampton, impressing in excellent displays against Manchester United and Chelsea in recent weeks.
Having spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, the 20-year-old joined 'The Saints' in a €14 million move earlier this summer. Despite never making a senior appearance for City, Guardiola has left the door open for a Bazunu return in the future, revealing that City have the option to re-purchase Bazunu from Southampton if they see fit.
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“We have a buy-back on all of them so just in case they explode we have a chance to get them back,” Guardiola said when asked about the string of young players who have left City this summer, which includes Bazunu.
The former Barcelona manager also spoke about how difficult it was to keep these players, as the youngsters feel they are ready for first team football and do not want to play for underage or reserve sides.
“All of them are fantastic players.”
“They could stay one to two years. The EDS (Elite Development Squad) competition is so light, it’s not real competition."
“They want Premier League, so after agreement with the clubs we have a buyback on all of them so just in case they explode we have a chance to get them back.”
Bazunu joined Manchester City in 2019, spending the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons on loan at Rochdale and Portsmouth respectively. Previously, Bazunu came through the youth ranks at Shamrock Rovers, making his debut for 'The Hoops' as a 16-year-old against Bray Wanderers in 2018.
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