The clues are there as to who could leave Manchester City in the summer | OneFootball

With Manchester City in the process of a rebuild, as players arrive at the club, there will be a host of players who are likely to depart the club in the summer. That is the way the cycle works as the world champions look to build their next era of success. Earlier this week Sacha Tavolieri reported for SkySports that Manchester City had told a host of key players that they could leave next summer. The players named were Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson. While I can’t see City’s departures being that drastic the clues are there as to who could potentially leave the club in the summer.

One player who isn’t included in Tavolieri’s list is Jack Grealish. But recently the England international has barely featured for Pep Guardiola’s side recently. He surprisingly started the first leg of Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League play-off tie against Real Madrid. He only played 30 minutes before he was substituted due to injury. Since then he has only been seen as a last-minute substitute during City’s 1-nil win over Tottenham. It also appears that Pep Guardiola has moved on to playing more dynamic wingers like Jeremy Doku and Savinho. If that is the case then Jack Grealish’s days at Manchester City could well be numbered.

Fitness and age may decide who leaves Manchester City this summer.

Speaking after Manchester City exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola told the media that his future City squad cannot sustain having injury-prone players. In an interview relayed by Joe Bray for Manchester Evening News Guardiola explained: “That is the reality. We have to sit down with the doctors, physios, the players, agents and be clear that some of them cannot sustain every three days – every month or two months playing every three days. This is the reality. There are already a lot of players who cannot sustain what we have done in the past every week in, week out.”

There are a host of players who fall into that category. John Stones, Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish again, immediately come to mind. It is hard to see both Stones and Ake leaving Manchester City this summer. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one of them leave in the summer. The case of Kevin De Bruyne is an emotional one. You do feel that there could be a role for De Bruyne in Pep Guardiola’s squad next season. There will be a need for senior players to help Manchester City’s summer signings learn the ways of Pep Guardiola. Players such as De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, for example, will help in this regard. But De Bruyne’s future is a topic to monitor as you could also see him leaving City when his current contract expires.

There is also the age factor that could see players such as Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan move on from Manchester City in the summer. But that may depend on who arrives at the Etihad as well. But there is no doubt that there will be a younger look to Pep Guardiola’s squad at the beginning of the 25/26 season.

The clues are there as to who could potentially leave Manchester City in the summer. While I don’t expect 7 or 8 players to depart the club it wouldn’t be a surprise to see 4 or 5 leave. There may also be more clues as to who could leave the world champions in City’s remaining matches this season. That is one subplot to monitor during the remainder of this season.