Manchester City head to the United States at the end of next week to begin their Club World Cup challenge - and they will hope to be strengthened by three new faces.
Rayan Cherki
City are pushing to sign Rayan Cherki before Tuesday's Club World Cup deadline
There are just over 48 hours to go until the first transfer deadline day of the summer. The countdown clock to Tuesday's 7pm cut-off won't be in the office of every transfer guru in European football, but it looms large at Manchester City.
That is the deadline for signing players to play in this summer's Club World Cup. They need to wrap up deals by then to include new arrivals on the plane to the United States later in the week for the 32-team tournament that Pep Guardiola hopes can kickstart a refresh within his squad.
He wants new energy in the ranks for the tournament. If City do go all the way they could be on the other side of the Atlantic for five weeks, so as much as the competition is yet to capture the public's imagination, it could become a vital staging post in the transformation of this squad.
City look certain to complete deals for Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri by the deadline, having agreed fees of around £46million and £33million with AC Milan and Wolves respectively. They continue to push to do a deal with Lyon for Rayan Cherki, with excitement around the midfielder's potential arrival going up a notch after his stunning cameo for France in the Nations League semi-finals.
Finalising a deal for Cherki will be the most taxing element of the final couple of days of the window. Reijnders and Ait-Nouri have medicals booked in, but there is more work to be done to ensure the 21-year-old Frenchman is also on the plane.
But the Club World Cup isn't the only thing complicating arrivals this summer. If those three players sign in time, it will be a major boost to City. However, the window will reopen on Monday, June 16. Players signed after that won't be able to play in the competition, but the Blues can still do business.
It's already been made clear that Kevin De Bruyne won't be joining City in the States, but Scott Carson's situation remains uncertain. The 39-year-old's contract expires midway through the tournament, and he is yet to put pen to paper on fresh terms. If he is to leave the club, he is unlikely to be part of the travelling party, which will mean the loss of an influential voice and a popular figure in the dressing room.
The absence of Carson in the squad will add weight to the idea that this is a fresh start. A five-week trip will give new leaders and personalities the chance to fill that void.
The Club World Cup will also impact player sales. Jack Grealish will be left out of the squad to find himself a move, while James McAtee is in England's Under-21 squad for the European Championships with his future seemingly now away from City.
A decision will need to be made on whether Kyle Walker travels, with his future also looking like it lies away from the Etihad.
The competition offers City a chance to immediately return to winning ways. Landing what is undoubtedly a prestige prize, despite the lack of public consciousness around it so far, will be a major confidence boost heading into the new season, but its place in the calendar does throw up a few issues to work around.
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