Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is furious with captain Vincent Kompany and is considering selling the Belgian defender, according to The Daily Mirror.

What's the story?

Vincent Kompany's decision to put country before club once again could come back to haunt the experienced defender as Pep Guardiola is furious with his club captain, after he played ninety minutes in the drubbing of Gibraltar over the recent international break.

Kompany returned from the international break with yet another injury and Guardiola is now seriously considering moving the 31-year-old away from the Etihad Stadium, The Mirror reports, in what would be a bold and controversial decision.

Despite his age and the fact he's injury-prone, many consider Kompany to still be the best central-defender that Manchester City have on their books; which is quite remarkable considering the Citizens have spent vast amounts of cash to bring various 'replacements' into the club.

City once again chased central defenders in the recent transfer window, with a late bid for West Brom's Jonny Evans, but pulled the plug after Eliaquim Mangala's proposed £22m move to Crystal Palace fell through- but the consensus was that the options are good with Kompany having returned to fitness.

Now that the situation has changed though, Manchester City could find themselves with real issues.

Is it time for change?

Soccer Football - 2018 World Cup Qualifications - Europe - Belgium vs Gibraltar - Liege, Belgium - August 31, 2017 Belgium's Vincent Kompany celebrates after the match REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Vincent Kompany has been a dedicated servant to Manchester City ever since his arrival in the Premier League and will undoubtably go down as a club legend. However, the Citizens over reliance on the injury-prone defender has held them back in recent years.

Kompany has been the benchmark for any defender arriving at the Etihad Stadium in recent years and numerous signings have been made to 'replace' the Belgian. For whatever reason though, the Citizens have thus far failed to do so- and it may actually be Kompany that's holding them back.

Finding a player to replace Kompany whilst the defender is still on the books is a nigh impossible task as the likelihood is no signing will immediately be as good as the 31-year-old. However, Kompany offers very little to the squad with his injury record as poor as it is.

A defensive line consisting of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi is good enough for a four-man defence, so Guardiola should switch out his tactics as the Citizens don't have enough centrally to play the three-man formation that the club has regularly adopted.

Sometimes you move forward you need to take a step backwards first to assess the path you're set to follow and that's certainly the case with Manchester City and Vincent Kompany.