The shirts of Jack Grealish, Nico Gonzalez, James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly are seen inside the Manchester City dressing room prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off first leg match between City and Real Madrid
Manchester City are likely to try and move several players on this summer
Manchester City's seemingly constant squad rebuild challenge is set to ramp up over the next few weeks.
The Blues spent big in January as their squad overhaul began, and they've acted quickly and decisively this summer to continue the trend.
Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijanji Reijnders and Rayan Cherki could all conceivably bolster the first XI and all three will certainly strengthen the squad.
City will hope to recapture past glories when the new campaign gets under way next month having failed to lift a trophy last season when they finished third in the Premier League and were beaten in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace.
But between now and the opening day encounter with Wolves, City and Guardiola will trim the squad. The Etihad chief likes operating with smaller numbers and has spoken plenty of times around his desire to not disappoint senior players by leaving the out of matchday squads.
Kyle Walker has departed, joining Burnley for a nominal fee that could rise to £5million is certain clauses are met, while Kevin De Bruyne left having not been offered a new deal.
Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips - who cost a combined £142million to bring to the club - are free to move on with neither part of the Club World Cup squad. Grealish has interest from several clubs while Phillips' future is complicated by a current injury that will sideline him into August.
James McAtee will likely depart amid interest from the Bundesliga and others, having opted to miss the Club World Cup to play a key role in helping England retain the European Under-21 Championships.
Even if those three all secure moves away, more exits are likely. There could be loan deals for the likes of Vitor Reis or Claudio Echeverri but it's the senior squad calls that will attract the most attention and analysis.
Nico Gonzalez, only signed for £50million in the summer, has emerged as a potential candidate to leave the Etihad, while it remains to be seen whether others will be on the move.
John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Oscar Bobb and Ederson are among those to have said they want to continue at the Etihad but there are no guarantees around any of the quartet, even if Guardiola has spoken about the latter continuing as first choice.
Mateo Kovacic, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake don't have secure futures given the depth available to Guardiola and while Bernardo Silva will now surely stay given he is club captain, it could be a final Etihad campaign for the Portugal international.
Who, and perhaps just as importantly for how much, departs will be critical to how City shape up moving forward. New director of football Hugo Viana will be tasked with negotiating the tricky recruitment picture. A lot rests on it.
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
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To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.
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