Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid.
Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid.(Image: Natalia Garcia/GocherImagery/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The summer transfer window is a little over a week old but Man City have already been very busy.
Deals have been agreed for Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, while they are also confident of wrapping up the signing of Lyon playmaker Rayan Cherki.
After a difficult 2024/25 season saw City go without winning silverware and relinquishing their Premier League crown, the club have moved quickly to re-establish themselves as title contenders next term.
Naturally, there have been plenty of theories behind why City suffered such a drop off this season. Injuries certainly didn't help and a number of players are now the wrong side of 30.
But some of their transfer decisions last summer have been criticised, particularly in the case of some players who were allowed to leave the club.
But how did those players who left City last summer fare elsewhere? Let's take a look.
Julian Alvarez
Erling Haaland plundered 31 goals for City this season but the next highest tally was just 10 from Phil Foden.
So while the decision to sell the Argentine international forward for £82million to Atletico Madrid made financial sense, City's goalscoring issues would question whether it made footballing sense.
And that is only heightened by the fact Alvarez scored 29 goals in all competitions in his first season in the Spanish capital and while Atleti didn't quite win any trophies this season, the 25-year-old has already established himself as his new club's main man.
Joao Cancelo
Cancelo had fallen out of favour at Man City and was always going to be shipped out last summer after returning to the club from a loan spell at Barcelona.
The Portugal international made the move to Saudi champions Al-Hilal and enjoyed a decent season, scoring two goals and registering 11 assists from full-back.
But Al-Hilal relinquished their Saudi Pro League title, lost in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League and the quarter-finals of the Saudi Kings Cup.
Cancelo missed the end of the season with a muscle tear but should be fit to feature in the upcoming Club World Cup under the club's new manager Simone Inzaghi.
Sergio Gomez
Gomez struggled to become anything other than a fringe player at City and after winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games with Spain he decided to move back to his homeland and join Real Sociedad.
While La Real struggled collectively this season, the 24-year-old enjoyed a strong campaign, moving from the left-back role he played with City to a left-wing role in San Sebastian.
Gomez scored five goals and bagged seven assists in all competition and won his first cap for Spain's senior side in October.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
Harwood-Bellis joined Southampton last summer on a permanent basis after helping the Saints win promotion from the Championship in the previous season.
The former England under-21 captain played 34 times in his first full season playing regular football in the Premier League and although Southampton were relegated, he was one of their better performers.
The 23-year-old also won his first England cap and scored on his debut in a 5-0 win over Ireland in November.
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Tommy Doyle
Doyle made his loan move from Wolves permanent last summer but found game time much more difficult to come by in his second season in the Black Country.
The 23-year-old made 24 appearances in the Premier League but started only three of those matches. Since Vitor Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil as manager he has fallen further out of favour, too.
The former England under-21 international failed to appear in any of Wolves' last nine matches and there is talk he could rejoin former loan side Sheffield United this summer.