• Success of Sterling, Jesus and Sané has recently relegated striker to the bench • Guardiola says he wants Agüero to stay but currently sees him as back-up

Pep Guardiola has admitted for the first time that Sergio Agüero could leave Manchester City in the summer. The manager and the club do not want the striker to depart but it is clear Agüero may get a move if he agitates for one. Guardiola has dropped him for City’s past two games – wins over West Ham United and Swansea City – and there is no guarantee the Argentinian will be reinstated for Monday night’s match at Bournemouth.

Guardiola, asked if Agüero would still be at City next season, said: “At the end of the season I don’t know. I know how difficult it is to find top goalscorers. I would like him to stay but I don’t know what is going to happen. Even in my career I didn’t know what would happen at the end of the season. I was clear every time we spoke with Sergio from the beginning. I know his strengths.”

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The emergence of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sané as a dynamic frontline, first used in the FA Cup at Crystal Palace, is why Agüero has not started since the draw against Tottenham three weeks ago. Guardiola said: “I know he’s trying. I know how much he fought against Tottenham and how many chances he had. But at Palace I saw three guys in front with a high intensity and said: ‘Wow, I like what they do.’ In the last game it gave them continuity. My advice to the guys is keep going – show me again how good you are.

“Sergio knows the intention of his manager and the club. I don’t want to sell him. I want him to stay here for a long time until he decides. The reason he’s not played the last two games are because Leroy, Gabriel and Raheem have played amazing. That’s the only reason why. If I can change the model and play all four … But I am a guy who likes to play midfield players to have more control. What I feel now is that if Leroy, Gabriel or Raheem don’t play, then he will be in for them.

“You cannot imagine how good my players are. I have a lot of confidence in all of them. You play 11 but you have 21 players in the squad. We have only one injured – [Ilkay] Gundogan. The rest are fit and in a good way, a good mood. He remains a top player and an important one for us to achieve our goals. I don’t have doubts about that.”

Guardiola has cut down on preparation time for his squad because of English football’s intensity. “We train less here, we train more to avoid injuries,” he said. “I haven’t had a year with so few injuries as this one, except the long injury for Ilkay, but basically the training is very similar to what I have done in the past.

“I have realised that in December and January here are very tough, because of Boxing Day and a lot of games in such a short time, but after that I think it’s less hard than in Spain for instance. Also, the weather influences the training sessions so we have to be careful with that as well.”

Probable teams: Bournemouth v Manchester City