Manchester City Under Pressure for Squad Clearance

MANCHESTER, SUNDAY — Since the January 2025 transfer window, Manchester City has brought in 10 new players. As the 2025-2026 competition campaign approaches, City Manager Pep Guardiola is pressed for time to streamline the squad's quantity.

City has 33 players in their main squad. It is impossible for Guardiola to work with that number of players. In the closing tournament of the 2024-2025 season at the Club World Cup, Guardiola only included 27 players.

In the last three seasons, it has been recorded that 22 City players have had the opportunity to play in more than 10 matches consistently. However, when counting the quantity of matches City plays each season, which exceeds 50 games, the number of players who appear regularly is even fewer.

Since winning the treble in the 2022-2023 season, Guardiola has consistently used a maximum of 14 players who have played more than 40 matches or clocked up more than 2,000 minutes of playing time. This would make a squad of 33 players redundant.

Amid the Club World Cup in the United States last July, Guardiola had already expressed to the public his request to the management to streamline the squad. However, the month has changed and the Premier League is set to begin in two weeks, yet City has not released a single player from the current squad.

Guardiola has actually strengthened his team by recruiting James Trafford to bolster the goalkeeper composition. Now, City has Ederson, Trafford, Stefan Ortega, and Marcus Bettinelli to include in the squad list for this season's competition.

"I'm happy to have more options, but I also don't like having six or seven players who are not injured at home on matchdays," Guardiola said, as reported by ESPN some time ago.

"The problem is they'll be unhappy throughout the season. They'll be sad and disappointed. I don't want that," he added.

According to The Athletic and the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola has allowed the club to release a total of 11 players. This number is based on playing time last season and the quality of players deemed unsuitable for the manager's needs.

Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips are two senior players who must leave the Etihad Stadium in order to secure regular playing time in the 2025-2026 season. Furthermore, they need to exit City if they wish to keep their hopes alive for participating in the 2026 World Cup.

Both players are also not included in City's squad for the 2025 Club World Cup. Grealish has been linked with Everton and West Ham United. Meanwhile, Phillips has struggled to make an impact during two loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich Town. The promoted team, Leeds United, is reported to be considering the option of loaning Phillips.

Meanwhile, five senior players have also been allowed to leave if there are offers from other clubs. The five players are all over 30 years old. They include the goalkeeper duo, Ederson (31) and Stefan Ortega (32), as well as John Stones (31), Mateo Kovacic (31), and Ilkay Guendogan (34).

The willingness of City to re-sign Trafford (22), a graduate of the City Academy, proves that Guardiola is no longer satisfied with the performances of Ederson and Ortega during the 2024-2025 season.

In total, conceding 78 goals in 61 matches or an average of 1.28 goals per game is the worst defensive record for City in the Guardiola era since 2016-2017. Ederson and Ortega have failed to replicate the strong performances of previous seasons.

Ederson has received an offer from Turkish giants Galatasaray, according to the Daily Mail. With one year remaining on his contract, this summer presents City with an opportunity to raise fresh funds from the sale of the Brazilian goalkeeper.

However, Ederson still has great ambitions to make amends for City's disappointment last season. He acknowledges that the performance in the previous edition of the competition should not be repeated.

"It's simple, the team isn't playing well. My season was disappointing too. Sometimes you play badly, then bounce back. Next season will be very different," Ederson stated, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Two other senior players reportedly set to leave City are Stones and Gündogan. Abdukodir Khusanov's availability will severely limit Stones' playing time. Furthermore, Stones has been plagued by numerous injuries, including thigh and hamstring injuries.

Meanwhile, Guendogan has also been unable to replicate his impressive performance since returning from Barcelona last summer. Two new creative midfielders, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, along with the young midfielder from Norway, Sverre Nypan, have confirmed that Guendogan's place is no longer at City.

Guardiola has prepared for the rejuvenation of the squad. The three new players possess the quality to become the new backbone of City at the heart of the game.

A similar situation is also experienced by Kovacic. Although he can play in several midfield positions, the recovery of Rodri and the presence of Nico Gonzalez will limit the opportunities for the Croatian player to appear.

"I still have one year left on my contract. I'm very happy here. I'm still enjoying my football and believe I still have a few years left at the highest level," said Gundogan, as reported by Sky Sports.

Aside from those senior players, Guardiola has opened the door for academy graduates, such as James McAtee, Oscar Bobb, and Nico O’Reilly, to seek regular playing opportunities at other clubs. The teenage player from Argentina, Claudio Echeverri, is also on the list to be loaned to another team.

Italian media outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that AS Roma has opened talks with City and Echeverri's representatives. The Wolves believe Echeverri could be a valuable addition to Gian Piero Gasperini's attack.