As we enter the final two weeks of the domestic season, it’s natural that transfer rumours ramp up ahead of the summer.
It’s expected that we’ll see a busy transfer window at Manchester City after an under par season, where the best they can hope for now is finishing in the UEFA Champions League places and beating Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup this weekend.
Kevin de Bruyne will definitely leave when his contract expires, and Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are highly unlikely to represent City again when their loans finish this summer.
The likes of Jack Grealish, John Stones, Ederson, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and James McAtee could follow them out the door, as City look to both trim and freshen up their squad.
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And in the last 48 hours (after a very disappointing 0-0 draw against relegated Southampton) City have been linked to numerous targets in midfield.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Florian Wirtz and Tijjani Reijnders have been confirmed by numerous sources to be serious targets for the Blues this summer.
I don’t think City will sign all three, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be hugely surprised if they did.
City need to reduce numbers but if, for example, Grealish, Bernardo and McAtee were to follow De Bruyne out of the door and the three main targets were to be signed, it would succeed in improving the squad too.
The Blues are battling with Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich over Wirtz’s signature, and whilst things looked bleak a few days ago when a deal with Bayern had reportedly been agreed, the latest news from all sources suggests that the German international and his parents were in England on Tuesday to negotiate a potential deal and look around City’s training facilities.
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Reijnders is another interesting target. The AC Milan midfielder will be 27 at the start of next season, though has played a quarter as many minutes in the top five European leagues as Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who’s two years Reijnders’ junior.
He’d probably cost a similar amount to Nico Gonzalez, and City could reduce the cost by offering Milan Grealish and Walker, the former of whom is reportedly a target for the Italian giants, with the latter having spent the last few months on loan there from City.
Gibbs-White has to be the priority because of his homegrown status, especially if Walker, Phillips, Grealish, Stones and McAtee all leave.
But if City do sign these three, there will be question marks about the future of Phil Foden.
After having won the PFA Player of the Season almost exactly a year ago, he had the world at his feet, but the 24-year-old had a poor European Championships with England and hasn’t looked the same since.
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Foden has just ten goals in all competitions for City this season, and none in his last 19 matches.
He’s struggled with injuries, but he’s certainly not a guaranteed starter anymore even now he’s overcome those niggles. People at the club are said to be worried about his mental state in the last few months and that is showing on the pitch.
With Gibbs-White, Reijnders and Wirtz all potentially coming in to challenge for places in attacking midfield, it pushes Foden further down the pecking order, as will the full return of Oscar Bobb from injury.
There are a few positives that the signings could bring to Foden, however, one being that Gibbs-White is the godfather of Foden’s son, Ronnie.
The two share a close bond off the pitch and even a small thing like having a close friend at the club could help improve Foden’s form.
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Also, the squad was underprepared this summer. There were holes in numerous key positions and there was way too much reliance on the core of the squad - namely Foden, Rodri and Erling Haaland - staying fit, and they didn’t.
There’s the chance that either the pressure of carrying the team through Rodri’s injury or, more likely, the exhaustion from having to play so many minutes with a lack of other options around him over the last two years, has caused his form to slide.
Having other options in midfield means there’d be more chance for rest and rotation, and more hunger within the squad from the new players to add to their trophy cabinet.
Playing in a winning team may also help Foden shine again. The Blues have been outplayed numerous times by their rivals but the new signings should ensure they start functioning like a Pep Guardiola team again.
Liverpool winning the league will hurt Guardiola and the players, and it appears they’re ready to pull out all the stops to win again next season.
But the role Foden plays in this, with Gibbs-White, Wirtz and Reijnders potentially on their way to Manchester, remains to be seen.
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