The jet-heeled winger may be one of the most dangerous attackers in the league, but he learned the other side of the game from Pep.
Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu has told the club’s official Twitter account that Pep Guardiola taught him how to defend during their brief time together at Barcelona.
Guardiola has forged a reputation for developing young talent during his storied managerial career, and gave the fleet-footed winger his professional debut in 2011, replacing Cesc Fabregas on the hour mark of a 5-0 thrashing of Real Mallorca at the Camp Nou.
And Deulofeu, now fulfilling his vast potential at Goodison Park with Everton, has credited the Catalan with imparting upon him the tactical side of the game as the pair prepare to reunite as Ronald Koeman’s fifth placed side travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
“When I had the chance to train with Guardiola, I was I think 17 or 18 years old. I was very young,” the 22-year-old told Everton’s official Twitter account.
“But I remember he took me for training to show me some movement and actions in defence because when I was 17 or 18 I always went to attack. But I needed to defend.
“They are good memories.”
Deulofeu is currently embarking upon his third campaign at Goodison Park across two spells, with the inconsistencies that dogged his loan spell in 2013/14 being slowly ironed out last season under Roberto Martinez.
The Catalan prodigy’s unpredictability and trademark knack of whipping in devilish crosses from a standing start have long been the scourge of Premier League defences, with Romelu Lukaku a regular beneficiary of Deulofeu’s creative talents.
However, claims that he was taught to defend under Guardiola’s tutelage will no doubt raise an eyebrow of one Unai Emery, who repeatedly dropped Deulofeu during a loan spell at Sevilla due to the wingers’ unwillingness to track back.
Koeman, a straight-talking workaholic, is not a manager who will accept anything less than total commitment, so the Spaniard will have to prove that his claims carry weight if he is to earn a first Premier League start since late August.
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