Manchester City need to sort a number of departures this summer but it is unclear if they will all be permanent exits
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 27: (L-R) James McAtee #87, Jack Grealish #10, and Nico O'Reilly #75 celebrate a goal during a game between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 27: (L-R) James McAtee #87, Jack Grealish #10, and Nico O'Reilly #75 celebrate a goal during a game between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
James McAtee and Jack Grealish need a fresh start
Manchester City need to sell this summer. Pep Guardiola has to have a smaller squad than he did for the Club World Cup, but even beyond that there are departures to be had.
City have players who weren't taken to the United States and others who have been out on loan that will not be part of the manager's plans for the campaign and a departure will suit all parties. Kyle Walker got the ball rolling over the weekend by completing a surprise move to Burnley in a permanent deal that could net the Blues a sum but, more importantly, keeps his wages off the squad bill.
It is a good piece of business for a player who needed a clean break, and the same is true for several others in the squad. It remains to be seen, though, if City will be able to secure permanent moves for every player that is heading for the exit.
The two that look the stickiest are Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips. Two England internationals should be in demand and are clear that their future does not lie in Manchester, yet with their record over the past two seasons - and an injury for Phillips keeping him out until August - it will require interested clubs to take a gamble if they are to buy either.
The fact that Walker moved, and the structure of the deal, could provide a template for similar moves with Grealish and Phillips going to ambitious clubs where the bulk of any transfer fee is conditional on performance-related payments.
Early in the summer City were confident of getting £25m for Como for Maximo Perrone after a successful year for the midfielder there. That would represent a handsome profit on the player, although that talk has stalled amid reports the Serie A club would prefer another loan.
City would be looking for that fee again for James McAtee, whose decision to choose the Under-21 European Championship over the Club World Cup looks vindicated even if it signalled the end of his hopes of making it at the Etihad. Fresh from lifting the trophy with England, McAtee is in demand and a loan would force City to tie the player down to a new contract first given it expires next year - an unnecessary situation when a permanent move can be fixed in the next few months instead.
Callum Doyle is attracting interest again this summer after four years out on loan, with Hoffenheim seeing a £6.5m bid turned down. Doyle has nearly moved permanently before and it should happen in this window; it's what the player wants and there is no reason for the club to go against that.
Issa Kabore is another that could be heading to the Bundesliga after a spell at Werder Bremen in the second half of last season went much better than the original loan at Benfica. Kabore has been at City since 2020 and if it is clear by now he is not in their plans as a full-back he is too good a player to be heading out on loan every year.
A seventh player that needs a fresh start is Luke Mbete. The 21-year-old academy graduate has had four loans over the last three seasons and would benefit from having a permanent home. He wouldn't bring in a fee similar to Doyle or Kabore but the potential is there and City could insert their usual clauses into any deal if Mbete thrives elsewhere.
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