Last season was a disappointing campaign for Manchester City, as they ended the season trophyless for the first time since 2017.
Hopes were high that they would be able to rectify that after they won their group in the Club World Cup, but City were knocked out in the round of 16 after losing a thrilling contest with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal 4-3.
Ahead of a crucial summer where Pep Guardiola will desperately try to prepare his side to reclaim the silverware they lost last season, here is an overview of **Manchester City**’s squad, as well as some players who would be sensible additions at the Etihad.
Goalkeeper: Ederson Set to Stay
It appears unlikely that Manchester City will move to sign a new goalkeeper this summer, as Ederson looks poised to remain their number one for yet another campaign.
There had been rumours, including one posted by Fabrizio Romano, that the Brazilian shot stopper had offers from clubs in Saudi Arabia, and that may have tempted him to end his eight-year-long spell at the Etihad.
However, in an interview with the BBC, Ederson, who kept 10 Premier League clean sheets last season and provided four assists, confirmed he was staying by saying,
"My future is here, … my head is here, it stays with the city. It gives me everything to go back to the Premier League again and try to win the Champions League as well.”
With Stefan Ortega still under contract in Manchester for another year, it remains likely that he will remain as Ederson’s backup for next season, meaning we may not see any movement in the goalkeeper department this summer.
Reinforcements needed in Defence?
When looking at City’s centre-back options, despite shipping 44 Premier League goals last season, Manchester City have a plethora of players who can play at the heart of their defence, making any summer transfers unlikely.
Indeed, City did business in this area back in January, as Uzbekistan’s Abdukodir Khusanov signed from RC Lens, whilst Vitor Reis arrived from Brazilian giants Palmeiras. Whilst both defenders have seen limited action so far, they have impressed when they have played and given that they are 21 and 19 years old respectively, they may be set for long careers in Manchester.
They joined a centre-back group consisting of John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias, with Josko Gvardiol able to deputise there if needed, and given the defensive strength of these players, it would be unlikely for Manchester City to opt to add another player to this cohort.
However, fullback is an area where City may choose to sign players, as they will look to improve their depth in those areas.
At left-back, Manchester City have just announced the signing of Rayan Aït-Nouri from Wolves for £31 million, and the Algerian international has already shown his quality to City fans at the Club World Cup, as he picked up an assist for **Jeremy Doku**’s opener in the 5-2 victory against Juventus.
He will provide cover and competition to Josko Gvardiol, who held the role for most of last season, and with Nathan Aké also capable of playing in that area, it appears that Manchester City have a sufficient stock of left-backs.
They may need more reinforcement on the right-hand side, as the expected departure of Kyle Walker leaves Rico Lewis as the only recognised right-back in the squad.
Although midfielder Matheus Nunes has deputised in that position on numerous occasions, it would be logical for Guardiola to consider signing another player who specialises in that role.
In terms of sensible signings, Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento was linked with a move before the Club World Cup in a report by Fabrizio Romano.
Whilst the move didn’t materialise, given that Livramento last season had a better tackle success rate (54.2% vs 48.7% according to FBref data) and made more progressive carries per game (2.63 vs 2.41) than Walker did in his last full season at the Etihad, it would not be a surprise if Manchester City were to make another attempt to sign him before the Premier League season starts.
Midfield: How to replace De Bruyne?
Despite losing Kevin De Bruyne, who has the most assists in Manchester City history, to Napoli upon the expiry of his contract, City are well stocked in the midfield department as they have a multitude of players to select from.
In the defensive midfield role, crucially Ballon D’Or winner Rodri will return to the side following the ACL injury that saw him miss most of last season, whilst Nico Gonzalez, who was signed in January from Porto to replace Rodri, will provide more then sufficient cover and competition in that department.
Just in front of them, Matheus Nunes and Ilkay Gündoğan have the experience and quality of passing to seriously harm teams from the engine room of midfield, whilst Mateo Kovacic will reinforce their options when he returns after his achilles operation.
With new captain Bernardo Silva providing creativity and an attacking spark alongside new signing Tijjani Reijnders, who has made a positive start to his Man City career after moving from AC Milan, Manchester City appear to have sufficient depth in the midfield.
However, with Bernardo Silva turning 30, Kovacic being 31 and Gündoğan approaching his 35th birthday, Guardiola may opt to sign a younger player to add more energy to **Manchester City**’s midfield.
If they look to the Premier League, then 21-year-old duo Carlos Baleba and Adam Wharton would both slot in perfectly to **Manchester City**’s midfield after their stellar campaigns at Brighton and Crystal Palace, respectively.
However, neither of those players would be able to replace the attacking output of De Bruyne, meaning a more attacking player may be preferred. One logical option would be Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios, who ranked at the top of the rankings of assists per game from Bundesliga midfielders, whilst his passing accuracy exceeded 90% and his number of successful progressive passes per match was in the top 10% of Bundesliga midfielders.
At 26 years old, Palacios is not as young as Baleba or Wharton, but given his impressive underlying passing metrics he appears to be a natural fit into **Manchester City**’s midfield, and would be a sensible signing this summer.
If City are indeed after a younger midfielder, then Rosenborg youngster Sverre Nypan would be a logical potential target.
The talented 18-year-old has been one of the stars of the Eliteserien for a while now, and with 62 appearances across four seasons, he seems destined to move to an elite side soon.
Indeed, according to reports by Fabrizio Romano at the start of June, the Norwegian may be set to sign for Manchester City over the course of the summer, meaning we may see him in Manchester shortly.
Attack: No Need for Improvement?
In the attacking department, Manchester City are a lethal force. They flexed their muscles in the group stages of the Club World Cup by hitting Al Ain for six, before thrashing Italian giants Juventus 5-2, and as they have a plethora of players to select from it is unlikely that we see any new faces.
On the wings, Jeremy Doku and Savinho both bring pace and flair to **Manchester City**’s attack. Doku completed a Premier League high of 107 successful take-ons, and as both players ranked in the top 10 in the Premier League for carries into the penalty area, their attacking spark will be influential for the Citizens next season.
Despite Jack Grealish appearing set to depart having fallen out of favour, Manchester City have a plethora of creative players who play wide but are more than capable of drifting inside and threatening the heart of the opposition defence.
New signing Rayan Cherki has already demonstrated his capabilities to fulfil that roll having scored in City’s 6-0 win over Al-Ain, whilst academy graduate Phil Foden has excelled in that position since he broke through into the first team and with two goals from the bench at the Club World Cup appears to be back to his best.
With versatile youngsters James McAtee, Nico O’Reilly and Claudio Echeverri all capable of shining in that position, it appears unlikely that Guardiola chooses to add another attacker to his squad.
Having bolstered their strike force in Januray with the arrival of Omar Marmoush, it seems likely that Manchester City choose not to upgrade their current striker options again over the course of this summer.
Indeed, Marmoush has shone since he joined the club from Eintracht Frankfurt, and the forward notched seven Premier League goals and gathered two assists despite only playing half the season.
However, the Egyptian international is expected to spend next season playing second-fiddle or out of position alongside Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian forward continues to thrive at the Etihad. He has over 120 goals despite playing less than 150 games for City, and he will need to resume the form that saw him score a league record 36 goals in his debut Premier League season if the Citizens are to regain their title.
After their Club World Cup exit, Manchester City will have to rebuild and recover ahead of their Premier League campaign.
If we do see any new signings at the Etihad, then they may be set to make their competitive debuts on 16th August, when City travel to Wolves on the opening day of the Premier League season.