Fabrizio Romano reveals Manchester City star could leave six months after arrival | OneFootball

Manchester City could be set to sanction a transfer for another of Pep Guardiola’s current crop of midfielders following the departure of Kevin De Bruyne and the impending exits of Kalvin Phillips and James McAtee.

The Blues are undergoing a busy transfer window after the arrival(s) of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, where the newly-signed quartet helped Pep Guardiola and co to a Round of 16 finish.

Hugo Viana has replaced long-serving director of football Txiki Begiristain in recent months and has not wasted any time in laying down a marker, with Manchester City understood to be eyeing a number of high-profile departures after getting most of their transfer business done early in the window.

After deciding against offering Kevin De Bruyne a contract renewal, City have also parted ways with Scott Carson as the 39-year-old approached the end of his most recent deal. Kyle Walker has also joined Burnley this week for a deal that could be worth £5 million if all conditions are met.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Manchester City would be willing to sanction the sale of Nico Gonzalez in the coming months in the event of an attractive offer, as the club progress their summer rebuild under Viana’s stewardship.

An exit for the 23-year-old is not a certainty by any accounts; however, it is not guaranteed that Gonzalez will be part of Guardiola’s squad for the 2025-26 season as Manchester City assess their options and incoming offers for the Spain international, who is “not considered crucial for the project and is one to watch” as the window progresses.

Gonzalez joined Manchester City from Porto in January for a reported fee of £50 million as Guardiola pursued the signing of another midfielder in the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who spent nearly the entirety of the recent season on the sidelines owing to an ACL injury sustained against Arsenal in September 2024.

After impressing early into his Manchester City career, the midfielder struggled for minutes in the business end of the season and was in and out of Guardiola’s starting XI amidst the Blues’ pursuit of a spot in the coming season’s UEFA Champions League.

There has been plenty of discourse amongst Manchester City fans on social media on what form the summer rebuild will take since Guardiola’s squad returned to England after suffering a Round of 16 exit from the Club World Cup at the hands of Al-Hilal.

Ilkay Gundogan has been subject of interest from Turkey as it remains to be seen what the remainder of the transfer window holds for the 34-year-old German, who met the conditions to activate an automatic one-year extension entered into his Manchester City contract following his return from Barcelona last summer.

Phillips has no future at the Etihad Stadium and is expected to seal a permanent exit after an unsuccessful season-long loan at Ipswich Town. Rodri returned to action in the final weeks of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign and after suffering a minor injury setback in the United States, Guardiola will be wary of rushing the 29-year-old back to the pitch.

City have added Reijnders and Cherki to their midfield and with Silva set to stay, Gundogan staying put could tempt the Blues to cash in on Gonzalez as the board look to trim the squad and reduce the wage bill ahead of the new season.