The 2024/25 campaign was one to forget for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
The legendary coach went trophyless for the first time since 2016, and his team wouldn’t qualify for the Champions League until the final day of the Premier League season, something they achieved with ease during past campaigns.
This has sparked change at the Manchester club both on and off the field as four new stars have arrived in City’s squad, while Pepijn Lijnders and James French were added to Guardiola’s coaching staff.
Over the coming weeks, the Premier League giants will be focused on exits as they look to trim Guardiola’s squad; however, Man City are facing a situation that has never been seen before during the legendary coach’s era at the club.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola with his hand on his face
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Nobody wants to leave Manchester City this summer
Guardiola made it clear towards the end of last season that he does not want to work with a big squad throughout the upcoming campaign, and with Kyle Walker leaving Man City for Burnley last week, others are now expected to follow.
However, according to Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski, Man City will find it difficult to get rid of some of their stars as no one wants to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer.
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“There’s more uncertainty than usual because you’ve got a new sporting director and you’ve got a bigger squad than is necessary, and that Guardiola wants, and that will fit in with UEFA and Premier League requirements. So, sort of players need to go, but nobody wants to,” Bajkowski said on the Talking City – Manchester City podcast.
“And everyone’s queuing up to say that they want to stay. So, you know, everybody can’t stay, but the more people come out and say, ‘Oh, I want to stay, I want to stay’. Then everyone else is looking around and thinking, ‘well, we all can’t stay’…
“And also, you know, we have probably not had as much stuff as we normally do this summer in terms of talking about players wanting to leave or players who might leave and speculation in that regard.
“Because, like I say, everyone wants to stay. So I think this is why the Gonzalez thing has kind of ballooned up this week.”
This is a very unusual situation at a Premier League club, as there is always one player who is unhappy and determined to leave.
Not everyone is currently happy with their role in Manchester, but what Bajkowski is stating is that in an ideal world, the stars that are expected to depart over the coming weeks would prefer to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
Jack Grealish warms up ahead of Crystal Palace v Manchester City
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The players expected to leave Man City this summer
Jack Grealish is a certainty to leave Man City this summer after being left out of Guardiola’s squad for the FIFA Club World Cup, but whether that is a permanent move or a loan deal remains to be seen.
The winger will be joined by James McAtee, who is now attracting interest from Everton, but only time will tell if the Toffees land the midfielder, as many clubs are interested in the 22-year-old.
Other members of Guardiola’s squad face uncertain futures, but they are not guaranteed to leave, such as John Stones and Ederson.
Ilkay Gundogan has also been linked with a Man City exit as Galatasaray remain keen on the midfielder; however, no official bid has arrived for the German.
Claudio Echeverri and Vitor Reis could also go out on loan, and although this is an easy way to trim Guardiola’s squad, it looks like the Manchester club will struggle to hit the number the legendary coach wants before the Premier League begins in August.