Manchester City have been busier than most Premier League clubs so far throughout the 2025 summer transfer window.
Man City entered the summer intending to add four to five new faces to their squad, a target the Manchester club reached when adding Tijjani Reijnders to Pep Guardiola’s ranks ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.
There have been changes off the field as well, with Pepijn Lijnders and James French joining Guardiola’s coaching staff, a move that has gone down well with Man City’s players.
And it is not only the senior team where changes are being made, as Man City’s academy has seen several players come and go.
Finley Burns in action for Manchester City v Wycombe Wanderers.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Finley Burns joins Reading on loan
Jeremiah Adesina is one of the latest players to join Man City’s academy set-up, who is one of several young stars that the Manchester club have acquired from their Premier League rivals in recent weeks.
Where there are incomings, outgoings also have to occur, and Man City revealed on Monday that Finley Burns will be joining League One side Reading on loan for the 2025/26 season.
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Finley Burns has joined Reading on a season-long loan.
All the best, Finley 🩵
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 7, 2025
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The 22-year-old has been with Man City since joining their academy from Southend United at 13 years old and made his debut for the Premier League club in 2021, when he featured for the entirety of a 6-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the EFL Cup.
Burns has had spells on loan at Swansea City, Stevenage, and Hull City in recent years, but last season did not go to plan for the defender as injury limited him to just 11 appearances in all competitions for the Tigers.
Therefore, it has been decided that another loan move is best for Burns’ development, but at 22, it may now be hard for the player to make his mark at Man City.
Man City future does not look promising for Finley Burns
Burns had high hopes about his Man City future when going on loan for the first time to Swansea in 2022, which was evident in his words upon joining the Welsh club.
“I think I’ve been prepared the best I could have possibly been because of my work with Pep and the youth coaches at Man City,” Burns told Swansea’s website via Manchester Evening News.
“That will continue here, and the style of play is very similar, so I feel I will be ready for what is required of me.
“I feel like I’ve developed a lot as a person as well as a player. I’ve matured a lot since I was 13, and I feel like everything is going in the right direction.”
Burns has been on loan three times since, and turning 23 next year, it is very difficult to see how the centre-back carves out a path for himself to become a part of Guardiola’s plans.
His loan spell at Reading would need to be something very special, which at the very least may secure him a good transfer away from the Etihad Stadium in 12 months.