After a historic season from Manchester City, they could be looking at a mass exodus during this summer’s transfer window.
Manchester City have completed a historic treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and finally getting their hands on the Champions League trophy. Now, with the summer transfer window officially open, they could be seeing a lot of faces head out of the doors of the Etihad this summer. Here’s a look at who could be departing:
After a decent start to the season with Manchester City, Cancelo returned from the World Cup break and found himself struggling for minutes in either of his full-back positions. This was down to a few factors, mainly the evolution of what Pep Guardiola wanted the right-back position to look like and where he wanted that player to position himself throughout a match. Cancelo first found competition in young Rico Lewis, then it was John Stones who solidified that role for the remainder of the season.
After being brought into the side in August of 2019 and enduring a tough first season, he blossomed the following years at City and was absolutely immense in last season’s title winning season. He marked 1 goal and 7 assists in the Premier League, shifting to a left-back role for Manchester City. Now, it looks set that his time in Manchester, and even England, is coming to an end.
Kyle Walker
Kyle Walker has only recently entered the transfer news, reportedly eyeing a move to Cancelo’s temporary home for the past 6 months, Bayern Munich. Walker has one year left on his deal at the Etihad, and Bayern is paying close attention to any developments.
Walker has been brilliant since his move from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2017, amassing 254 games for City, and winning plenty of trophies along the way. His combination of power and speed has played such a big part in his success under coach Pep Guardiola, but with game time decreasing in the last 6 months of this season, and completing the goal of winning the Champions League, he looks interested in taking on a new challenge.
Silva has long been in the transfer rumors for the past few windows eyeing a move away from Manchester City. He has drawn interest from Barcelona in the past, PSG more recently, and has expressed his desire to leave the club once more as clubs move into this summer’s transfer window. Even amidst the speculation of his future over the years, he has remained loyal and put his head down to help the Blues achieve incredible heights.
Silva has played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s success, and once again showcased that in the Champions League final. In any match City is going to need a workhorse in the starting XI, Silva is there and rarely disappoints. His control, touch, stamina, and work rate make him a rare find with all of these qualities combined at such a high level. He has developed from a promising talent at AS Monaco into one of the world’s best attacking midfielders in Europe, and Manchester City has been the main beneficiary.
Reports are split with club captain Ilkay Gundogan. At first, he looked incredibly likely to depart Manchester City with Barcelona eyeing up the 32-year-old. However, even having been named on City’s released list, there are still ongoing talks (and hope) that Pep’s first signing will remain at the Etihad and extend his contract. Given his performances, there will be no shortage of clubs looking to snatch him up on a free. His innate ability to drift into dangerous areas undetected and finish around the goal are quite impressive for a midfielder. Let’s not forget the 2020/21 season where he finished with 13 goals in the Premier League and went on that incredible run in the winter months.
It’s no secret how much Gundogan has contributed at City over the years, and that he turns into prime Zinedine Zidane at the business end of the season. He will be sorely missed and incredibly difficult to replace should he part ways with City and seek a new adventure.
Aymeric Laporte
Laporte was brought in during the winter window in January of 2018 and quickly established himself in that City defense. His ability to distribute, maintain a cool head under pressure and his overall presence were a welcome sight at the time for Manchester City. He went on to play 34 matches in the following 2018/19 season, only to complete 28 games between the following two seasons after that (2019/20,20/21).
His time at City has certainly seen its fair share of ups and downs, but the ability to have him as a backup or slot him into defense when Dias, Stones or Kompany was injured was a serious luxury. Only playing 11 games this season, a player of this caliber deserves to be starting on another side. Barcelona has shown interest previously in Laporte, and Tottenham has been one of the clubs more recently to put him onto a list of possible summer targets. If the fee is right, City will surely allow him to leave this summer.
Riyad Mahrez
The Saudi League has not been quiet in the transfer market, with some huge names being targeted in hopes of generating some genuine excitement about the league. They already have Cristiano Ronaldo there, but now Riyad Mahrez is one of the latest names to pop up in the papers.
A £40 million deal is reportedly on the table for the Algerian star, and that kind of money for 4 years will demand anybody’s attention.
Having arrived from Leicester for £60 million, he has scored 78 goals in 236 appearances, with his best season in the Premier League coming in 2019/20, contributing to 20 goals for Manchester City. At 32 years old, he now has a decision to make; Continue on with City and Pep, or take on a new league and make big money to provide even further for his family.
Who do you think will leave Manchester City, and what signings do you see them making this summer?