According to a recent report by The Daily Mirror, Premier League giants Manchester City are said to be preparing to offload a flurry of first-team stars as Pep Guardiola looks to rebuild his squad in the summer to close the gap to Liverpool. The report claims that the City gaffer has warned the players that judgement day is coming at the end of the season and that the future of at least six stars is under scrutiny.
It has been suggested that the gaffer is considering offloading Leroy Sané, Gabriel Jesus, Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Benjamin Mendy and Nicolas Otamendi in the summer, after identifying that none of them had been performing up to the required standard right from the start of the season. The report further claims that the aforementioned group of players cost the champions a whopping £250m to acquire.
Where Did It Go Wrong For City This Season?
The early injury to Aymeric Laporte is arguably what began City’s relative collapse at the top, as they struggled to replace the Frenchman’s defensive presence, and were eventually forced to move the veteran midfielder, Fernandinho into the centre-half role. John Stones also picked up a knock, which then forced Nicolas Otamendi into the side. Also, players like Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva just haven’t been hitting quite the same heights as last season, while the untimely absences to key players through injury certainly hasn’t helped their cause either.
Here Are Three City Players Pep Guardiola Must Sell In The Summer:
John Stones
The Englishman has been a regular in Gareth Southgate’s national teams but is yet to make a name for himself at the Etihad Stadium. The 25-year-old has featured in eleven Premier League fixtures this season and has struggled to gain his manager’s approval in selecting him. The centre-half’s game is plagued with loose passes and poor positioning, and upgrading on the former Everton man could turn out to be a necessity in the coming months.
Nicolas Otamendi
The 31-year-old has come to impress over the last couple of weeks with his defensive play but remains a ticking time-bomb waiting to go off at the worst possible minute. Despite his recent surge in form, the Argentine is undoubtedly another one of the City defenders who has let Pep Guardiola down this season. The veteran has played in 16 league games this term but continues to look second best to Fernandinho every time he steps onto the pitch.
Leroy Sané
The German speedster continues to be injured as we head into the fag end of the Premier League campaign, with Liverpool less than two months away from lifting the title if they continue with their current dominance in the coming weeks. The 24-year-old is a talented wide player who has shown his potential on multiple occasions in the past. Despite this, it could be argued that he’s actually surplus to requirements at Manchester City, owing largely to the fact that he’s actually got a very similar skill-set to that of Raheem Sterling or Riyad Mahrez. Still young and highly desired by Bayern Munich, selling the German international could fund a massive spending spree from City in the summer.
