Manchester City’s Summer Transfer Window

1st Team - OUT

Julian Alvarez got his move out of Manchester as he looks to become the main striker at a top European club. More than expected given his ability, the competition City has for minutes, and the presence of Erling Haaland. For more on the move check out the post below. 👇

Joao Cancelo has departed the club, heading to play in the Saudi Pro League for Al Hilal after Barcelona failed to provide him with a permanent move. Good for both parties to have found an exit for him.

Sergio Gomez has now departed to Real Sociedad which was expected after the reduced minutes he played last season. You can read more about the move in the post below. 👇

Taylor Harwood-Bellis is now playing for Southampton in the Premier League. A permanent move was activated after they secured a promotion.

Yan Couto has gone on loan to Borussia Dortmund with an obligation to buy. Talented right-back coming off an exceptional season with Girona in LA Liga but City are covered in that position.

Kalvin Phillips secured a loan move to Ipswich this season, which hopefully is a chance for him to regain form, confidence, and eventually interest in a permanent move away.

Maximo Perrone has gone on loan to Como 1907 in Serie to be coached by Cesc Fabregas. A player I rate quite highly in the thread linked below, who impressed in the preseason during moments and is one to keep an eye on.

1st Team - IN

Savinho is a player I’ve watched a lot of after following Girona last season. Who their manager said was the most talented player he’s coached. Partly due to the fee, I don’t think people realized how special of a player he is but the first two games have already caught most up. You can learn more about him in the post below. 👇

Ilkay Gundogan returned to Manchester City which added the depth and solutions they needed in the short term. A huge boost of morale for the squad and fans heading into the season. For some, their favorite City player ever and you can read more about his return in the post below. 👇

Claudio Echeverri is due to arrive in Manchester once the season ends in Argentina, at the end of this year. The plans for him are yet to be confirmed but he could bolster the squad with more depth in the second half.

City Football Academy - OUT 

Micah Hamilton left to join Middlesbrough in the Championship on a permanent move. A side that finished 8th last season under Michael Carrick, a promising young manager, and hopefully a place Hamilton will get minutes to develop.

Liam Delap sealed a permanent move to Ipswich and we saw briefly last weekend that Delap is a handful for defenders to deal with physically. Another highly-rated young manager is Kieran McKenna, who will be hoping Delap’s goal contributions match his work off the ball this season.

Alex Robertson had a popular but short loan spell at Portsmouth last season in League One before picking up a season-ending injury. He’s secured a permanent move to Cardiff in the Championship. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Robertson in the Premier League next season through a transfer.

Callum Doyle is heading out on another loan spell to the Championship, this time with Norwich who are expected to perform quite well. Given it’s a loan, and there is no doubt they would have had interest from other clubs to sell him, I wonder if City has him in mind for the first team next season.

Mahamadou Susoho secured a loan move to Peterborough but has returned after picking up a lengthy injury within the first couple of matches. Joel Ndala is heading on loan to PSV Eindhoven with a mandatory buy clause.

Kane Taylor moved back permanently to Aston Villa U21s. Ben Knight moved on a free transfer to Real Murcia. George Murray-Jones was sold to Nottingham U21s. Kayky has gone on loan to Sparta Rotterdam. Finley Burns has gone on loan to Hull City. Luke Mbete has gone on loan to Northampton. Tomas Glavez has gone on loan to LASK. Jadel Katongo has gone on loan to Peterborough.

Squad Composition 24/25

GK Assuming that Ederson can find his confidence and form seen in his first four seasons at City, backed up by Ortega, the team is set up in this department to handle the increased volume of games. There are more than enough opportunities for Ortega in the Cup matches, and he's capable of either pushing Ederson or taking his place.

LB On the left side Josko Gvardiol is the first choice and with the system we've seen in the opening couple of matches, this role is a better balance for him. Wide threat provided by other players which gives him the license to drift in and support when needed. Nathan Ake is an excellent option to rotate with. Providing his strengths defensively, particularly tackling dribblers, and allowing City to handle select RW threats.

RB This is one position I have questions over, the success of both players will depend on the minutes afforded to them. Rico Lewis is ready to play 2,500 - 3,000 minutes across all competitions. Offering a skill set Kyle Walker cannot in the position and in the first two games Rico has shown he's capable defensively against dangerous wingers. Kyle Walker will benefit from reduced minutes, is an excellent option to rotate with Lewis and I hope that we'll see his best form return from that combination of competition and reduced workload.

CB I expect that Nathan Ake will compete for a lot of minutes at CB, mainly being a rotation option at LB when needed. The combination of Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji seems likely to be the starting pair. If John Stones is fit consistently then he'll be able to push his way into the eleven. Last season City wasn't great at handling transitions and part of that was due to the central defenders. How they handled second balls, won aerial duels, and were aggressive on the opposition forwards. Whoever is the best at that will get the most minutes.

DM Rodri will have had more than enough rest during the summer. Kovacic has made improvements in the role and Gundogan has returned. There is no reason why City couldn't rotate this position well enough for Rodri to remain fresh and sharp come the end of the season. Remains to be seen how many minutes Nico O'Reilly can get but depending on the League Cup and Champions League fixtures, he could pick up ~500 minutes.

Number 8s This is a huge advantage City has over other title rivals this season. The depth in midfield for the two number 8s. In McAtee and Nunes you have two midfielders who can pick up minutes through the season which means the remaining players can stay fresh. League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League games in the first part of the season.

De Bruyne + 1 
Foden + 1

That's a setup that City can roll with when the fixtures stack up. There is the option of playing Foden and De Bruyne together for matches. There will always be a high-quality midfielder on the bench who can come on to change the game. Considering the age of some players, having this many trusted and quality midfielders should help to mitigate that concern. Keeping them all fresh. My one concern is the minutes, as brilliant as the depth is, there is going to be one midfielder who gets far fewer minutes than they would like.

LW/RW In Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish you have two wingers on the left side who will be able to compete for minutes through the season, they offer different skill sets but both will need to be decisive and dynamic out wide to keep the shirt. Tracking back, forming a partnership with their full-back, pressing effectively, and providing the end product. It's not one or the other, they both need to deliver on all of those fronts.

The same applies on the right side to Savinho and eventually once back, Oscar Bobb. The Brazilian has a big opportunity to establish himself down the right flank this year but come January Oscar Bobb will pushing him for a spot.

ST
I believe that a backup striker would be ideal, and given the rumored targets, City wants a player similar in style to Haaland. But after finishing the window without one, I think they have enough options across the team to get by. Several players in the team have played False 9, you have the wingers to make that system work. Guardiola has stated numerous times that Oscar Bobb can play as a striker.

As for Erling Haaland, I think you'll see him return to the goal-scoring form of his first season...

Premier League Transfer Window 

For players worth watching after their moves to the Premier League, check out the thread listed below.

Best Value Signing Under Guardiola?

LAST WORD👋

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