Man City Prepares Major Squad Overhaul with Six Players Set for Exit

Manchester City are looking to reduce their roster size during the upcoming summer transfer period, with six players identified as candidates for departure.

The Citizens experienced a disappointing 2024–25 campaign and have already made moves in the transfer market as they seek to return to peak performance. Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli were all brought in during June.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola is well-known for preferring to operate with a compact squad, and the Manchester City manager has already insisted that the club must offload players before the 2025–26 season begins.

In comments made during April, the Spanish coach stated: "I told the club I don't want [a large squad]. I don't want to keep five or six players on the sidelines. I don't want that. I will leave. Create a smaller squad, I will remain."

Players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker have already left the Etihad Stadium, but The Athletic has now revealed that six of their former colleagues could follow them through the departure gate—including those who have shown interest in remaining.

İlkay Gündoğan, Mateo Kovačić and John Stones are identified as experienced players who might still exit this summer, while prospects Nico O'Reilly, Oscar Bobb and Claudio Echeverri have also been mentioned for possible departures.

Gündoğan is expected to leave City despite returning to the club just last year, with Galatasaray being his most probable next destination. Kovačić saw regular playing time last season but is also viewed as a tradeable commodity, while Stones's recent fitness issues mean his departure would no longer represent a major setback.

Echeverri and O'Reilly seem unlikely to be transferred permanently but might well gain from a temporary move to a premier European team, though The Athletic acknowledges Bobb is "highly unlikely to be departing" this summer.

Absent from the six is Jack Grealish, who already seemed headed for an Etihad exit. Having been left out of Man City's FIFA Club World Cup roster, his sale appears almost guaranteed.

James McAtee represents another potential departure as City look to generate revenue—there is attention from Eintracht Frankfurt and Nottingham Forest regarding the English player—while Kalvin Phillips and Máximo Perrone appear to have no prospects at the club moving forward.