Manchester City were left licking their wounds after a sobering 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday afternoon
Ayyoub Bouaddi was in England this weekend as Lille played Everton in a pre-season friendly
Ayyoub Bouaddi was in England this weekend as Lille played Everton in a pre-season friendly(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
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Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca was quick not to over-dramatise the defeat to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. While it was the first competitive fixture of the season, a lot of City's players had only just returned to training in the days leading up to the clash. That led to a more disjointed performance than they would have liked against the Premier League champions.
Maresca insisted, regardless of the result in Cardiff, that transfer business still needs to be done before he is happy. "Any new signing, the sooner they arrive the better because we are starting the Premier League in one week and if they start to work with us as soon as possible it's better that they can also understand the way we want to play," he explained.
"We knew already before the game of the things that we need to do. It's not because we lost the game, or even if we had won the game, to think differently. We are quite clear in what we need to do and for sure we are going to do something before the window closes."
Not all of the business City will do between now, and the summer transfer window closing on September 1, shall be incomings. The Blues are also expected to sell players to fund their new business. With this in mind, MEN Sport has taken a look at the five deals City can complete after the wake-up call vs Arsenal.
Exits
A nailed on first exit for City is Rodri. The Golden Boot winner's future always looked in doubt after he did not sign a contract extension at the Etihad Stadium, when it was offered. Following two rejected bids from Barcelona, the Blues accepted a £65.4m offer for the Spaniard on Sunday evening.
The transfer is now gathering pace and Rodri, according to reports, is expected in Barcelona on Monday evening for his medical. Also out the door will be Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutch international only signed for City last summer but his time in Manchester is already close to ending.
Tijjani Reijnders and Rodri celebrate after winning the FA Cup last season
Tijjani Reijnders and Rodri celebrate after winning the FA Cup last season
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During his press conference on Friday, Maresca all but confirmed Reijnders would be leaving this summer. "They all work every day, they all do sessions every day and at the end of the week they all want to play a game," the head coach said when asked about Reijnders.
"When they don’t play, they struggle to understand or they struggle to see the reason why and I can understand that after one season some of them would like to play a little bit more. It’s a normal situation.
"It’s a bit difficult to convince players when they are already convinced. You need to change their thoughts, that is not always easy. Tijjani’s situation is like James Trafford’s situation, some more players, but I think when the club, the player, the manager, they all think the same way, that probably the best decision for a player is to go, you have to go."
Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah look set to win the race for the 28-year-old, following previous interest from Nottingham Forest. A £52m exit is set to be announced soon to bring Reijnders' short stint at the club to a close.
The one exit that is not quite as clear cut, is Savinho's. City's Brazilian winger was clearly frustrated by the lack of playing time last season and Tottenham have a long-standing interest in the 22-year-old.
Savinho has since played a major role in pre-season, but did miss open training on Thursday. Maresca confirmed afterwards that his absence was due to illness and he would be checked ahead of the game against Arsenal.
He did not make the squad for the Community Shield and it now remains to be seen where his future lies.
Incomings
Rodri's exit from Manchester comes as City accelerate talks with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi. It is understood a move for the Morocco international is independent of Rodri leaving the club. Lille have previously been quoted as wanting £85.6m for Bouaddi and would like the midfielder to return to the club on loan, for the upcoming season.
However, City are not keen on this and would insist on Bouaddi joining the club immediately, especially considering the fee it will take to sign him. The talented teenager is not the only midfielder on the radar.
Enzo Fernandez remains of interest to City, despite the Blues missing Chelsea's deadline to bid for the midfielder. Last week, it was reported that Chelsea had set a firm deadline of 5pm on Friday for bids to arrive, otherwise the Argentina international would not be sold.
In his Friday morning press conference, Maresca was asked about Fernandez. The Italian head coach refused to speak about the midfielder but, when pushed about doing business that day, he said: "I don't think we're going to do something today."
City's interest remains and, after Fernandez was booed by a section of the Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, there could be further twists in this saga yet.