It was Real Madrid who knocked Man City out of the Champions League this season. And it’s Carlo Ancelotti’s side who could come back to haunt them this summer.
Manchester City’s 2024/25 Champions League campaign feels like a distant dream; perhaps because it ends so poorly, and perhaps because Pep Guardiola’s side could very easily miss out on the competition altogether next season.
Over two legs, Real Madrid beat Man City 6-3 with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the second leg to knock the Cityzens out of the tournament, leaving Pep to now focus on an FA Cup and a 4th place finish in the Premier League table.
One of those dreams is more alive than the other. On Sunday, Man City beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the quarter-finals to book themselves a last four tie against Nottingham Forest, who sit in 3rd place of the table compared to City who currently reside in 5th.
There’s plenty of change on the horizon at the Etihad this summer too with Hugo Viana arriving as director of football, and bound to oversee an influx of new signings, and also of player exits.
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Real Madrid ready to beat Man City to £100m-rated Adam Wharton
One player linked with a move to Manchester ahead of the summer is Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton. Both Man City and Man United are interested in Wharton who has interest from elsewhere in the Premier League and Europe, following his rapid rise to stardom since joining Palace from Blackburn Roberts in 2024.
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Already valued at £100million, reports coming out of Spain now say that Real Madrid are taking more and more interest in a possible summer move for the 21-year-old. Real Madrid Exclusivo reveal that Wharton is being ‘closely monitored’ by Real Madrid and that chief scout Juni Calafat has ‘followed his development’.
The same report adds that Wharton ‘could become a key target’ if Carlo Ancelotti and co decide they want to bolster their midfield ranks, which is something Man City look set to do themselves.
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Huge update on Ilkay Gundogan’s Man City future
In those two spots in front of defence, Pep needs numbers, especially with Ilkay Gundogan looking as though he’s playing his final weeks at Man City.
Recent reports state that Gundogan is set to leave Man City as a free agent in the summer and that the German is not in shape right now, which could explain his inconsistent season following his return last summer.
But the 34-year-old leaving and potentially being replaced with someone like Wharton, who’s almost half his age and already showing signs of world class ability, is the sort of thing City need to do.
Unfortunately for Viana, he’ll only have so much money to spend in the summer, and with so many positions to bolster, it’ll be a balancing act trying to improve the side enough to compete.
£100million on just one player might be out of Man City’s reach.