Two Manchester City stars left out of private friendly despite two line-ups named – No place on plane for Palermo clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola left out two first-team stars for a behind closed doors friendly last weekend, with decisions to be made for their meeting with Palermo on Saturday.

Manchester City’s pre-season preparations have begun in earnest, with Pep Guardiola using the weekend to assess squad depth in a low-profile, behind closed doors clash against Preston North End.

The 1-0 win at the City Football Academy allowed returning stars to get valuable minutes ahead of their upcoming fixture in Sicily. But the absence of some names was a telling omission amid rising speculation over both players’ futures.

For Jack Grealish, Manchester City’s willingness to entertain loan offers for the England international has opened the door to proposals, with Everton the latest to open formal talks with Etihad officials over a temporary agreement.

Concerning James McAtee, his situation is also seemingly progressing in the background with City open to a permanent sale – provided a buy-back clause can be included – and multiple English and German clubs circling.

Now, according to a new report from MailSport’s Mike Keegan and Jack Gaughan, it has been revealed that Jack Grealish did not feature in Manchester City’s first friendly of pre-season and is now highly likely to also miss the upcoming trip to face Palermo in Italy.

It has been revealed that Grealish is thought to have been present at the City Football Academy on Saturday afternoon as manager Pep Guardiola fielded two different line-ups for a 1-0 behind-closed-doors victory over Preston.

But despite the two line-ups, the 29-year-old was not used – alongside fellow want-away star James McAtee – and the former Aston Villa captain is not expected to travel to Italy this weekend either with Everton actively working on a loan deal.

Manchester City are not expected to rush decisions on either player, especially in Grealish’s case. As reported previously, there is a growing feeling that potential suitors – including Premier League clubs – may only act later in the window. With his £300,000-a-week wages and lack of form, any deal will require a careful balance of risk and reward for interested parties.

For now, Manchester City’s pre-season continues without two high-profile names in the departure conversation. Saturday’s clash against Palermo could offer further clues about which players are in Guardiola’s plans for the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and which are closer to the exit door.

The likes of Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Rayan Cherki, and Omar Marmoush are likely to be the main figures pushing to fill Jack Grealish’s void on the left of attack for Manchester City, offering Pep Guardiola a chance to refresh his attacking options.

Whether Grealish and McAtee have already played their last minutes in sky blue remains to be seen, but the latest development suggests the club are already planning for life without the pair.