Gareth Taylor has responded to rumors that out-of-favour striker Chloe Kelly could leave Manchester City during the January transfer window.
After the report which Kelly is open to a loan move to rivals Manchester United for the rest Women’s Super League season, Taylor said the club was “not aware” of the speculation surrounding her.
A derby day disaster saw City bow out of the competition at the Etihad Stadiumwhile United claimed local bragging rights with a 4-2 win. The side will be forced to bounce back from the defeat in preparation for the second leg of the Subway Women’s League Cup on Wednesday night.
Speaking to the media, Taylor confirmed that Kelly “probably won’t be available” for the game due to an ankle injury sustained during training last weekend.
Despite rumors that her absence could be linked to a potential departure from the club, the head coach confirmed that the England international “is still our player until we hear otherwise”.
Taylor added: “When the players are here, they’re here. They are Manchester City player until it’s different, and it’s the same with Chloe. If nothing changes in this window, she remains a Manchester City player. There’s a lot of speculation about her, and we’re just dealing with what’s in front of us.”
In other squad news, Taylor confirmed that star striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw is closing in on a return to action but will remain unavailable for the midweek game.
“It probably will be [available] at the weekend against Villa,” confirmed Taylor. “She’s a big loss for us, she’s obviously a big influence on the team. Once we get Bunny back, it will really help Viv [Miedema] and other options we have at the top of the pitch.”
Naomi Layzell is missing in action after picking up an ankle injury against Barcelona in the first round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Taylor said 90 min that Layzell is “close” to returning, but not quite ready.
“It’s quite frustrating with Naomi because she got close and then she couldn’t mark those last checks,” he explained. “She is close, we hope that after the last meeting she had with the specialist she can now come forward and return to the training group with us.
“She’s done a lot of work behind the scenes, and hopefully we’ll be able to bring her back into the team when it’s all clear for her to rejoin the group.”
City will be without Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, who are “in a good place” despite the lengthy break.
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