City need to start planning for next season after effectively bidding farewell to the title – and that means having a big clear out
Manchester City are experiencing their worst run of results in nine years under Pep Guardiola and their joint-worst losing streak in the Premier League since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi royal family. This is not a blip, this a full-blown crisis. And the only way to respond is to do what the club did on those two previous occasions: completely overhaul the squad.
City signed 11 players in their first summer under the Abu Dhabi owners in 2008, including Robinho, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta, plus a further 10 the following year, adding Emanuel Adebayor, Gareth Barry and Carlos Tevez to an already richly-assembled squad. When Guardiola became coach in 2016, there was another massive influx of players, with Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones among those joining up in a spending spree totalling around £180 million ($228m). And when the coach failed to win a trophy for the first time in his career that season, the club shelled out £262m ($332m) on new arrivals, reshaping their entire defence.
City made just two signings last summer after winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title and they are now paying a heavy price for trusting in the old guard. The squad contains 11 players who are either on the wrong side of 30 already or who will be into their fourth decade when next season begins, and it has just taken a few injuries for City to fall apart. Sunday's defeat at Anfield was their sixth defeat in their last seven games, leaving them 11 points behind the Reds in the title race.
The Cityzens desperately need to get back to winning ways when they host Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, but more importantly they need to look towards the future and begin rearming their squad so Guardiola can assemble another title-winning side. And that means moving on a number of players who inspired them during their era of dominance but who are long past their best.
GOAL picks out six names Guardiola must look to move on as he plots a major rebuild…
GettyKyle Walker
Kyle Walker was close to being pushed out of the team early in 2023 when Guardiola re-jigged his defence and started playing inverted full-backs rather than overlapping full-backs. Nathan Ake replaced Joao Cancelo at left-back, and for a while it looked as if Stones was going to usurp Walker after starting ahead of him in a win at Crystal Palace. Guardiola, meanwhile, famously doubted Walker's ability to adapt to the new system.
But Walker proved the coach wrong and played such a crucial role in City's treble win that in the close season, Guardiola booked out a Japanese restaurant in central Manchester to prevent him from moving to Bayern Munich.
At the age of 33, Walker had an unexpected renaissance, but little more than a year on, his new lease of life is fast approaching its expiry date. The defender had a difficult start to the season due to niggling injuries and Guardiola initially preferred to play Rico Lewis ahead of him at right-back.
Walker has since returned to the team, but his performances have rapidly declined. He has started in four of the six games City have lost since the end of October, looking particularly lost against Bournemouth, Tottenham and especially Liverpool, being culpable for both goals City conceded at Anfield. Walker's contract expires in 2026, but on current form, and with Lewis already ready to take his place, City should consider cutting ties with him one year early.
AdvertisementGettyJack Grealish
One has to feel a bit sorry for Jack Grealish. He went from being Aston Villa's talisman and the Premier League's most expensive signing to then being relegated to a squad player in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
Grealish adapted to Guardiola's demands in his second campaign and was instrumental to City's treble win, albeit not in the way many expected, getting five goals and eight assists in all competitions (fewer than in his previous two seasons with Villa). Grealish played more of an understated role in the triumph, helping City progress the ball up the field and attack in numbers. But his reward for completely changing the way he played was for the club to sign Jeremy Doku to compete for his spot on the left wing.
The midfielder had a terrible third season, missing large chunks due to injuries and struggling to perform when he was available. It has been a similar story this campaign, and he has not scored a single goal for the club in 2024. He has been reduced to a squad player once more, starting just seven games in all competitions.
Grealish is under contract until 2027, but it is in the best interests of him and the club for him to leave this summer. His lack of playing time led to him being left out of the England squad for Euro 2024, and the 2026 World Cup is looking like his last shot at playing in a major tournament again. His superb performance against Ireland in a free role showed he still has what it takes for the Three Lions, but he needs to find a club that will let him be him.
(C)Getty ImagesBernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva has been one of the finest players of the Guardiola era, but there has always been an elephant in the room: he keeps wanting to leave. The Portugal playmaker might have got his wish in 2023 had Gundogan not also decided to depart, but he was instead convinced to sign a new contract until 2026, albeit one containing a release clause.
Bernardo's performances have dropped markedly this season. He has just three goal contributions (all assists) and he has been unable to give City their usual control in midfield. Guardiola felt he could not afford to lose Bernardo in 2023 amid other potential departures, but now a clear out is on the horizon, it makes sense for both parties to look elsewhere.
Getty Ilkay Gundogan
Gundogan left City with his head held high in 2023, wearing three freshly won medals to take his total tally of trophies won with the club to 14. Barcelona felt like the dream move for him, but the Catalan club's financial troubles and a few dressing room squabbles opened the door to an unexpected return. The reunion seemed to suit everyone at the time, but it turns out that the last thing an already ageing squad needed was a 34-year-old who had just become accustomed to a slower pace of game in Spain.
The injuries to Rodri and Mateo Kovacic have recently forced Gundogan to anchor the midfield, a position he did not look comfortable playing in the 2021 Champions League final, never mind at the age of 34. The German has looked out of his depth against Liverpool and Tottenham, unable to keep up with the frenetic pace.
He only signed a one-year contract with the option to extend it by a further 12 months, but taking up that option would just be kicking the can down the road. It's now best for the veteran midfielder and for the club to admit their mistake and part ways once again in the summer.