Manchester Citywill address their 2023 summer sale in the wake of Saturday’s Champions League final.
The departure of Ilkay Gundogan has been most talked about in recent times yet Bernardo Silva,Aymeric Laporteand Joao Cancelo all face big decisions while Kalvin Phillips, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez are among other high-profile names expected to be in the news.
Gundogan has been on the radar of Barcelona and now that Lionel Messi is not joining La Liga’s new champions there will be a clearer understanding of how soon they can get the finances in place to present him with a golden opportunity to play in Spain.
The chance is a big one. Gundogan has a great relationship with Pep Guardiola – they are neighbours as well as having a working life together – and theCityboss has made it clear he would love him to stay for another season. But joining Barca is tempting and even someCitysources know it will be tough for him to turn down.
City have an offer on the table but Barca will be willing to put a longer contract to him as well as a fresh challenge. There is interest too from Borussia Dortmund if he was more keen on a Germany return.
Bernardo is an interesting case given he was expected to leaveCitya year ago but went on to become an extremely important figure in their Treble quest.
Again it is Barcelona who have been on his tail for longest, yet there is also interest from Paris Saint-Germain.Manchester Citydo not want to lose him but any offer of around £70million would be considered.
City are keen to gain an understanding of where they stand with the£290k-a-weekduo very quickly on the back of their Istanbul final at the weekєɴԀ.
It could be that Laporte’s situation is complicated as he has various options to consider both in England as well as abroad but interestingly ɾєρօɾτs thatCityare hot on£85m-ratedJosko Gvardiol are true – which suggests they are ready for a shake-up in the centre of defence and that Laporte is indeed likely to exit.
It is difficult to see Cancelo turning his situation around on the back of a loan to Bayern Munich while midfielder Phillips has interest from West Ham United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa but is non-committal over the prospect of leaving.
Kyle Walker has been linked to Aston Villa and Sheffield United but in the final months of the season won over the confidence of Guardiola again and is a player they would rather not replace at this moment. Mahrez, too, can stay atCitybut suitors will test the water – with Saudi Arabian interest gathering pace.
