Manchester City scout lauds rising talent in European nation ahead of January 2026 transfer window | OneFootball

A scout employed by Manchester City has extolled the virtues of up-and-coming talent emerging from Croatia ahead of the 2026 January and summer transfer windows.

City made wholesale changes to their first-team in the recent transfer window, with seven new signings brought in by newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana as part of a significant overhaul of Pep Guardiola’s group.

Guardiola himself overhauled his coaching staff and recruited the trio of Pepijn Lijnders, Kolo Toure and James French to help lead Manchester City back to challenging for major trophies after the Catalan underwent his most challenging season at the Etihad Stadium.

City bid farewell to Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ederson, Ilkay Gundogan, Scott Carson and James McAtee in the summer, with Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish amongst several first-team stars allowed to leave on loan for regular first-team opportunities.

Manchester City signed the septuple of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, James Trafford, Sverre Nypan and Gianluigi Donnarumma over the course of a sliding doors window this summer.

Officials at the Etihad Stadium managed to trim the wage bill, move on several senior stars past their prime and recruit fresh blood to challenge for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons this term, with City also aiming to improve on a Round of 16 finish in the UEFA Champions League in the 2024-25 season.

Viana has been hailed for his shrewd acquisitions of Cherki, Reijnders and Donnarumma in particular; with Donnarumma’s £26 million deadline day signing from Paris Saint-Germain recently voted as the best signing of the 2025 summer transfer window by Europe’s top agents in a survey conducted by The Athletic.

City are not expected to be nearly as active in the 2026 January window, though there could be renewed interest in a new right-back should Guardiola and co feel the need to add an out-and-out option in the position to serve as a long-term replacement for the departed Walker.

However, Manchester City are expected to build on their 2025 summer business after the 2025-26 season as the Blues look to capitalise on their deeply-rooted scouting network to attract the best talent from Europe and beyond.

Speaking to HNL this week, Manchester City scout Milan Holub said: “The Croatian league is getting better and better, more and more competitive,” as quoted by SportKlub.

“Maybe more competitive, maybe Dinamo is a bit less dominant than before but you still have Hajduk, a pretty strong Osijek at least financially, with a beautiful stadium.

“You have Rijeka, Varaždin plays good football, Gorica plays good football. So, it’s very competitive and there are no easy games for anyone here (in Croatia).”

Manchester City return to Premier League action on Sunday as Jack Grealish prepares for an emotional return to his parent club with Everton, who have given the 30-year-old England international a new lease of life since his season-long loan switch in the summer.