Jack Grealish leaves Man City as Guardiola makes key De Bruyne, Ederson transfer decisions
Manchester City have some big questions to answer this summer. Will Ederson be sold? What about Kevin De Bruyne? Is it time to cut ties with Jack Grealish? And where will Kalvin Phillips end up?
We don’t quite answer all of those questions but we decide whether or not said players, and every other Man City first-team star, should be kept or sold in the summer transfer window. It’s time for another game of keep or sell.
Who Manchester City should sell this summer
Ederson – Keep
Kicking things off is a player we think Manchester City should keep amidst genuine transfer interest from elsewhere.
If there is a sufficient offer and Ederson wants to leave, City will let it happen. They have before with Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and others. It will be a lot more difficult to replace their goalkeeper, though.
He is the perfect Pep Guardiola, ball-playing sweeper keeper. There is nobody else better at it. City have to at least try to convince him to ignore Saudi Arabian interest.
Stefan Ortega – Keep
A superb back-up goalkeeper ready to step in if Ederson leaves, Stefan Ortega should be kept by City. Should Ederson stay we would not judge him for jumping ship. His recent contract extension makes that outcome an unlikely one, mind.
Scott Carson – Keep
Carson is the most important person at the entire club. Sell him and that’s the whole thing knackered.
Rico Lewis – Keep
Rico Lewis is a brilliant young player who is well past the possible loan phase of his Manchester City career. It would not be a surprise to see clubs register an interest in the coming weeks and if that does happen, it will be interesting to see what Lewis wants and if City would be willing to let him leave. Could Chelsea do it again after their Cole Palmer masterstroke?
Kyle Walker – Keep
He was close to leaving last year but ended up snubbing interest from Bayern Munich. An exit this summer feels unlikely and even if he is becoming a bit of a pace merchant, Walker will remain a crucial player at the Etihad.
Ruben Dias – Keep
Man City’s defence is very settled and Dias is the best of the bunch.
John Stones – Keep
England and City defender Stones seems to be improving every year, adapting to different roles under tactical psychopath Guardiola, and maturing into one of the best Premier League defenders of his generation. Keep.
Manuel Akanji – Keep
One of England’s Euro 2024 heroes, Switzerland defender Akanji might know 850 x 348 but he can’t take a penalty very well. Thankfully, that isn’t his responsibility at Man City, who should obviously keep him. What a bargain he has turned out to be, by the way. £15million they paid for him.
Nathan Ake – Keep
One of the most underrated players in England, Ake has been brilliant for Man City over the last two years. People were unsure when the Citizens paid £40m to sign him from a leaky Bournemouth side fresh off relegation to the Championship. However, he has turned out to be an excellent signing. He is another one who got away from Chelsea’s hands.
Josko Gvardiol – Keep
After a shaky start to life under Guardiola, Gvardiol ended up having a very impressive debut season at City. He is already brilliant and has a ludicrous amount of potential.
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Joao Cancelo – Sell
It is clear that Cancelo is not in Guardiola’s plans but unfortunately for him, he can’t seem to find a club that both wants and can afford him. Barcelona at least want him but any funds they find down the back of the couch will likely be spent elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see where Cancelo ends up. Man City will be hoping for a bid from Saudi Arabia, surely.
Sergio Gomez – Being sold
Spanish left-back Gomez is returning to his home country to play for Real Sociedad. Fabrizio Romano said so.
Joshua Wilson-Esbrand – Keep
There is likely a place – albeit a limited one – for Wilson-Esbrand in Guardiola’s squad with Gomez leaving. If they want to loan him out, fair dos. If they want to sell him, they won’t make any enemies. Do what you want, fellas.
Kalvin Phillips – Sell
Kalvin, please, for the love of all that’s holy, find a new club. Not West Ham, though.
Rodri – Keep
Man City would be doing everyone a favour by selling Rodri, which is why they will never in a million years sell the best midfielder in the world this summer. Nobody would even be brazen enough to make an enquiry.
Maximo Perrone – Keep
Instead of passing the torch, Phillips can pass the bib to young Perrone. Someone has to occupy that seat on the bench, pal.
Mateo Kovacic – Keep
There are better midfielders out there but Kovacic is a fine squad player for Man City.
Matheus Nunes – Keep
We will give young Nunes the benefit of the doubt after an extremely unimpactful debut season at the Etihad.
Kevin De Bruyne – Keep
Man City cashing in on De Bruyne – who has one year left on his contract – makes no sense. A new deal has never been ruled out, however, it looks like the Belgian will relocate to the United States or Saudi Arabia in a years’ time. There is reportedly strong interest from the latter this summer.
James McAtee – Sell
It is abundantly clear that McAtee is not going to become a regular under Guardiola. He could at a bottom-half Premier League club, though.
Oscar Bobb – Loan
Norwegian prodigy Bobb can contribute – and already has, massively – for City but a year elsewhere to work on his craft could be a game-changer for his career. He is too good and too promising to be sitting on the bench most weeks.
Bernardo Silva – Keep
Every summer there is noise regarding Silva, usually involving Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. This year is no different.
There are rumours of a release clause and in truth, if Barca weren’t so skint, he would have signed for them a while ago. If they can muster up the cash, City will not be expected to stand in Silva’s way. Regardless, he is an extremely important and brilliant player for the Citizens and his sale is absolutely not recommended.
Phil Foden – Keep
The Premier League Player of the Season should not leave Manchester City. Obviously f**king not.
Jack Grealish – Sell
Pep has brought in Jeremy Doku and Savio to (presumably for the latter) play the expressive role on the left we expected Grealish to assume following his British record £100m transfer from Aston Villa in 2021. Instead, the England international has been restricted under Guardiola, who has made such a talented footballer another cog in the system, rather than the tricky, risk-taking winger we came to adore at his previous club.
Grealish was the Clamour king for England at previous tournaments yet missed out on England’s Euro 2024 squad with hardly anyone being unable to comprehend why Gareth Southgate would do such a thing. His family, friends, the player himself, and Hellmann’s will have been the angriest of the lot.
It is time for Grealish to leave City to spread his wings once again. He is winning plenty of pots and pans and played a big part in the club’s Treble win in 2022/23 but the timing feels right. And he is more than capable of walking into any other Premier League starting XI.
Jeremy Doku – Keep
The take-on king had an inconsistent debut year in Manchester but is evidently a very talented boy.
Julian Alvarez – Keep
There has been a lot of noise surrounding the future of World Cup winner Alvarez and Man City are rightly not entertaining any interest. Like Gabriel Jesus did when he left for Arsenal in 2022, Alvarez would like to be the main man. That is difficult when Erling Haaland is your team-mate.
Alvarez might want to be one of the first names on the teamsheet every week but he still played 54 times across all competitions last season and enjoyed a terrific spell in the side when De Bruyne was injured between August and January. He assumed set-piece duty and was bloody good at it. Out of the Argentine’s 54 appearances, he started 39 times, including 31 in the Premier League.
Noise has died down in recent weeks and it looks like Alvarez will be staying at City, which is the right outcome for the player and club.
📣 TO THE COMMENTS! Which players do you disagree with? Join the debate here.
Erling Haaland – Keep
As much as every other club would love to see the back of Haaland, or even better, welcome him as a new signing, it obviously makes no sense for City to sell him.
👉 More: 2024 top scorers | Ridiculous stats of Erling Haaland | Who will win the Ballon d’Or?
