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Guardiola To Trim Man City Squad To Avoid Unhappy Players
Guardiola To Trim Man City Squad To Avoid Unhappy Players
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has announced his intentions to reduce City’s squad by the end of the transfer window to avoid having sad players disappointed about their playing time.
For the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Guardiola brought 27 players to participate. Excluded from the squad were Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, James McAtee and Kalvin Phillips, with the decision to offload these four players having already been made. Mateo Kovačić also did not travel to the United States, but this was due to injury.
New signings Rayan Cherki, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli did travel with the squad, meaning that more existing players are expected to be moved on in the coming months.
“I would love to have the players that we have now all season,” Guardiola said. “I would love it. I don’t have any complaints about the players, how they behave. The problem is that they will be unhappy during the season. They will be sad, they will be disappointed. I don’t want that. For me it’s not a problem.
“I have more selection but I don’t like to be six, seven players — just in case, no injuries — being at home. So I do it that way. I do that for them. So that’s why we have to see what happens. We still have a long time, I would say, until the transfer window will be closed.”
Guardiola has usually liked to work with 20 field players and three goalkeepers, meaning that up to four players could be on the City chopping block.
One of these players is likely to be midfield İlkay Gündoğan, who City resigned last summer after he departed to Barcelona for one season following City’s treble-winning season.
According to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, Gündoğan is currently being pursued by Galatasaray. With the Reijnders signing and Rodri returning from injury, the competition for playing time will be fierce, and it is being rumored that the 34-year-old former City captain is open to moving to Turkey, especially considering his exclusion from the team’s leadership group following his return to the club.
Who do you think Manchester City should sell? Let us know in the comments below!
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