Pep Guardiola has two topics he keeps on coming back to whenever he speaks to the media. The first is the match schedule, particularly how the television companies often give Manchester City unfavourable treatment, such as making them play on a Saturday after a gruelling Wednesday Champions League encounter or giving them just two days’ rest for a Carabao Cup tie.
City fans feel proud when he does this, as he is fighting for their cause against an establishment they feel is out to get them, although Guardiola is far from alone when it comes to complaining about when matches are arranged.
The Catalan’s other favourite topic of conversation is more unique to him, the matter of the size of his squad. Guardiola fervently believes in having a small unit of players where everyone is motivated because they play regularly, rather than a bloated roster where players feel apathetic after being repeatedly overlooked. And not even City’s injury crisis of last season, when they had to supplement their squad with academy players and sign four new recruits in January, has persuaded him to change course.
The City boss stressed the need to trim down his squad during the Club World Cup, and did so again after his side’s emphatic 4-0 win at Wolves on the opening day of the Premier League season: "Too many people. I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions, but I don’t want to leave players at home. It’s not healthy. In the next two weeks, people will talk with players and agents to find a solution."
Guardiola’s ideal squad size is 23 players, as it was when City last won the title in 2023-24, but his current group numbers 30 even after Vitor Reis, Jack Grealish and summer signing Sven Nyerre left on loan to Girona, Everton and Middlesbrough, respectively. So with less than two weeks to go before the transfer window shuts, who should City move on to give Guardiola the streamlined, super-motivated squad he so desires?
Pep Guardiola has two topics he keeps on coming back to whenever he speaks to the media. The first is the match schedule, particularly how thetelevision companies often give Manchester City unfavourable treatment, such as making them play on a Saturday after a gruelling Wednesday Champions League encounter or giving them just two days’ rest for a Carabao Cup tie.
City fans feel proud when he does this, as he is fighting for their cause against an establishment they feel is out to get them, although Guardiola is far from alone when it comes to complaining about when matches are arranged.
The Catalan’s other favourite topic of conversation is more unique to him, the matter of the size of his squad. Guardiola fervently believes in having a small unit of players where everyone is motivated because they play regularly, rather than a bloated roster where players feel apathetic after being repeatedly overlooked. And not even City’s injury crisis of last season, when they had to supplement their squad with academy players and sign four new recruits in January, has persuaded him to change course.
The City boss stressed the need to trim down his squad during the Club World Cup, and did so again after his side’s emphatic 4-0 win at Wolves on the opening day of the Premier League season: “Too many people. I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions, but I don’t want to leave players at home. It’s not healthy. In the next two weeks, people will talk with players and agents to find a solution.”
Guardiola’s ideal squad size is 23 players, as it was when City last won the title in 2023-24, but his current group numbers 30 even after Vitor Reis, Jack Grealish and summer signing Sven Nyerre left on loan to Girona, Everton and Middlesbrough, respectively. So with less than two weeks to go before the transfer window shuts, who should City move on to give Guardiola the streamlined, super-motivated squad he so desires?
When City signed James Trafford last month, the expectation was that the returning academy graduate would compete with Ederson for the starting berth in goal while Stefan Ortega would depart. But the situation has changed with the growing uncertainty surrounding Ederson’s future.
The Brazil international was keen to leave City in the summer of 2024 when a succulent offer from Saudi Arabia arrived, and even though he insisted at the Club World Cup that he wanted to stay, the speculation that he will in fact depart has refused to die down after Galatasaray expressed strong interest in him.
Guardiola insisted that Ederson’s absence against Wolves was down to gastroenteritis, though it is worth remembering what the Catalan’s former Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez once said about the stomach virus in football: “Gastroenteritis is the reason given when something else is going on.”
Trafford looked very comfortable in the Wolves game, and although City are not ruling out a bid for Gianluigi Donnarumma in the event Ederson does leave, this seems a golden opportunity to let Trafford compete with Ortega and cash in on the Brazilian, whose shot-stopping powers have been on the wane for some time.
Even after Reis’ loan departure, City still have a surplus of centre-backs. Six players are competing for two spots now that Josko Gvardiol has solidified a spot at the heart of the defence, and Nathan Ake is the player who makes the most sense to part with.
The Dutch defender made only eight Premier League starts last season as he suffered three long absences with injury, including undergoing foot surgery towards the end of the campaign. Guardiola even name-checked him along with John Stones, complaining that the duo “have been injured all season” before saying “you cannot perform if you are not reliable”.
Ake is now 30 and has two years left on his contract, meaning there is still time to get a reasonable transfer fee for him to invest back into the squad and keep the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) wolf from the door.
Joshua Wilson-Esbrand has been on City’s books since 2019, although he has never made a competitive appearance for the first team, spending the last four years out on loan – in France with Reims and at various Championship clubs – while never really standing out during any of those spells.
Although City are not well stocked with natural left-backs beyond new signing Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wilson-Esbrand is not at the level required and if anything happens to Ait-Nouri then Gvardiol can revert to playing on the left, as can Nico O’Reilly.
City should be looking to find a permanent new club for Wilson-Esbrand as the chances of him ever making the step up appear ever slimmer. At the very least, he should go out on another loan.
Claudio Echeverri looked an exciting prospect during the Club World Cup before picking up an ankle injury in training, but the reality is that City have more than enough wide forwards and attacking midfielders to get by. Echeverri needs more senior European football under his belt after joining from River Plate in January, and a loan move is the best place to get it rather than within the City squad as things currently stand.
There is no shortage of suitors for Echeverri, with Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen having recently declared their interest in the Argentine teenager following reports linking him with Roma. City simply need to decide where Echeverri is most likely to develop and then get a short-term deal done with a view to him coming back in 2026, ready to break into Guardiola’s team.
It is easy to forget that City paid £42m to sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United in 2022 because he has almost been erased from the club. Phillips decided to stay on for a second season even after barely featuring in the treble-winning campaign, but he eventually sought refuge at West Ham in January 2024.
His loan spell at the London Stadium was a total disaster; he gave away a goal two minutes into his debut against Bournemouth, was part of the team that got hammered 6-0 at home by Arsenal, got sent off against Nottingham Forest and was then verbally abused by his own supporters following defeat at Newcastle.
His next loan spell at Ipswich Town was less eventful but no more successful, and it is surprising that there are clubs still interested in signing him, even on loan. A return to Leeds is the romantic option, but from City’s point of view, any club will do so they can draw a line under one of Guardiola’s worst-ever signings.
Tottenham’s bid for Savinho came as a big surprise and appeared to unsettle Guardiola, who quickly expressed his desire to keep the Brazil winger and has since pleaded with the club to block the move. The reported £60 million ($81m) offer would have seen City triple their investment on the player after signing him for from sister club Troyes last summer, but it was deemed too low given Savinho’s career projection.
However, if City could force Spurs to raise their bid to as high as £80m ($108m) then it would make sense. Savinho offered lots of excitement last season but not a lot of end product, certainly when it came to finishing his own chances. He scored just once in 29 Premier League appearances and was ranked asthe most wasteful player in the league in terms of his ratio of goals converted from expected goals.
City also have plenty of options in Savinho’s position, with Rayan Cherki able to play on the right wing as well as a No.10 while Oscar Bobb also set to play a big role after missing most of last season with a broken leg. And if City can get Spurs to raise their offer, they could even use the profits to sign another top-level forward with scoring pedigree, such as Real Madrid’s Rodrygo.
