Man City fans call for surprise player to be brought into the team after Aston Villa disasterclass

Manchester City fans are calling on Pep Guardiola to introduce a new player to the starting XI after their latest Premier League defeat.

City suffered a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, but the result could have been even worse for Guardiola's side.

Jhon Duran failed to capitalise on a major error from Josko Gvardiol in the first minute that left him through on goal, with the Colombia striker unable to place his shot beyond Stefan Ortega.

The German goalkeeper then clawed out Pau Torres' header from the subsequent corner, with only a miniscule amount of the ball not crossing the line.

Duran would give Villa the lead following a quick counter-attack, before former City academy star Morgan Rogers made it 2-0 after half-time.

Phil Foden scored what proved to be a consolation on 95 minutes and the away side left the west Midlands with zero points.

Guardiola was criticised for his substitutions, with winger Jeremy Doku brought on with just seven minutes to make an impact.

But one player who was an unused substitute was midfielder James McAtee, who has been part of the City first team squad this season after spending the last two terms on loan at Sheffield United.

And amid mixed recent performances from the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, fans want McAtee involved on Boxing Day when Guardiola's side take on Everton.

One wrote: "Why can't McAtee play over Gundogan when the latter played as a 10 today? Don't get it whatsoever."

A second said: "James McAtee needs to leave for the good of his career. No point in staying if he can't be given a chance in our worst run of form in 15 years."

James McAtee has played two minutes of Premier League football this season (Image: Getty)

A third asked: "How bad would it be to play McAtee and rest Bernardo?"

And a fourth added: "When the midfield is as absent as they have been today/the last few games, can't understand why McAtee hasn't been given a chance."

McAtee's inclusion would come as a surprise as he hasn't started a single Premier League game all season. In fact, his two substitute appearances have given him a grand total of two minutes of playing time.

At 22 years of age, the midfielder's time at the Etihad Stadium may come to an end in the summer as he has been linked with moves to West Ham and Fulham.

But McAtee was once regarded as one of City's top academy talents and fans clearly believe it is time to give him an opportunity to show what he can do.