Man city have fresh transfer decisions to make on 13 first team players

PEP GUARDIOLA MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT HE WANTS TO OPERATE WITH A SMALLER SQUAD - AND WITH MANCHESTER CITY PLANNING TO ADD NEW PLAYERS THIS SUMMER, THAT MEANS A FEW MIGHT HAVE TO LEAVE.

05:00, 22 May 2025 Manchester City have 32 players listed on their official first-team squad list on the club website, yet Pep Guardiola wants a squad closer to 21 or 22. Guardiola came out

with a typical 'Guardiola line' on Tuesday night when he said he has told City he will quit if he is handed a big squad to work with next season. It is "impossible", he

says, to build a cohesive squad when multiple players have to be left out each matchday. Against Bournemouth, seven first-team players were omitted from the squad and only one was through

injury. Guardiola hates leaving players out and has mentioned several times recently how difficult it is to make that decision. Guardiola wouldn't be drawn on the necessity of players

leaving to result in his ideal squad size. But City want to strengthen the squad in the summer and the group is already too big for Guardiola's liking. He has spoken of players who keep

getting injured being at risk of leaving in recent weeks, too. Of those 32 players, Kevin De Bruyne will leave to take the number down and Maximo Perrone is set for a £25m move to Como

after a successful season on loan in Italy. Josh Wilson-Esbrand is included in that number, too, and surely doesn't have a realistic first-team chance after all this time. Kalvin

Phillips also falls into that category but remains under contract so a solution must be found for him. And despite his FA Cup final debut, it feels more likely that Claudio Echeverri will

develop better out on loan rather than giving Guardiola a headache every week next season over whether he should be on the bench or not. Article continues below Scott Carson is out of

contract this summer and so a decision will be taken on extending his deal or finding another third-choice goalkeeper, with Ederson's future the subject of links to Saudi Arabia for the

second season running. Kyle Walker feels the door is still open for a return but all the evidence suggest he closed that when he left in January in the middle of City's worst form.

Whether AC Milan take their option on him to sign the former captain permanently remains to be seen and an exit one way or another feels even more inevitable after Guardiola's latest

comments. John Stones and Nathan Ake fall into the category of players who are injured too often to be relied upon. A serious decision had to be taken before Guardiola's assessment of

his squad - that call could now come into sharper focus. Add Matheus Nunes and James McAtee to a similar bracket - players who have helped out at times this term yet McAtee is one of those

currently watching from home and Nunes will fall down the pecking order if City seek a new right-back in the summer. Guardiola has already said he can't play in the middle, despite it

being his natural position. Finally there is Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan. Grealish is just above the water line as he is making the squad, just without getting starts or regular

substitute appearances. Shifting him may be difficult, however, Guardiola will need 21 players he can rely upon next season in his ideal smaller squad while he has consistently overlooked

Grealish this term. Gundogan triggered a new contract and has really picked up form in recent weeks. Whether he stays for that extra year and there is room for him could be the focus of

another difficult conversation, even if Guardiola is expecting him to be part of the squad next season. _---_ _Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best

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