Busy summer ahead at Man City – could Guardiola’s treble winners be dismantled?

A little over a week ago, Manchester City made history after sealing the treble. A 1-0 win over Inter Milan secured their first ever Champions League having already wrapped up the Premier League and FA Cup. Pep Guardiola’s side will go down as one of the best group of players in history. However, could the treble-winning squad be ripped apart this summer? Widespread reports are linking several Man City’s players will big-money moves away from the club. Let’s take a look at some of the rumours…

Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker has been a key player since joining Man City from Tottenham in 2017. The England international has forged a reputation as one of the best right-backs in world football and has cemented himself as a City legend having made over 250 appearances to help the club win the Champions League, 5 Premier League titles and 6 domestic cups.

However, with just one year left on his contract, the 33-year-old is being strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich this summer. City want to keep him, but Walker is reportedly open to the idea of a new challenge at this late stage of his career. It would be a huge blow to lose him and those holding Manchester City tickets will be desperate for him to stay and sign a new contract. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out, but youngster Rico Lewis will be waiting to take his chance if Walker does leave.

Ilkay Gundogan

The German international is currently out-of-contract and was named on Man City’s ‘release list that was published last week, indicating that he’s set to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer. Gundogan joined City from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and has made over 300 appearances for the club. The 32-year-old has won 12 major honours with the Cityzens and was a key player in their treble winning campaign having scored a number of important goals in the run-in, so will be remembered as a legend for the club.

Guardiola hasn’t given up hope of persuading the midfielder to stay and sign a new deal with City, but the likes of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are trying to lure him back to Europe, while Arsenal are also hoping to pull-off a major coup by snapping him up on a free transfer.

Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva was strongly linked with a move to Barcelona last summer but Guardiola managed to persuade him to stay. However, the rumour mill suggests that the Portuguese international could finally leave City this summer as he seeks a new challenge. Silva is being linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, while clubs in Saudi Arabia are also eyeing an ambitious move.

The 28-year-old has developed in to a world class midfielder since joining Man City from Monaco in 2017. He’s one of the most technically gifted players in Europe and would be a huge loss if he was to leave City this summer. The good news is if City are forced to sell, they should receive a sizeable transfer fee to go towards signing a replacement.

Riyad Mahrez

The Algerian international is another player who’s being strongly linked with a move away from City this summer. Widespread reports suggest that Mahrez is being lined-up for a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia and the player is open to the idea of securing himself a bumper pay rise. Mahrez has scored 78 goals in 236 appearances since joining Man City from Leicester City in 2018. While he’s not always been the first name on the team-sheet, Mahrez has been a very useful weapon for Guardiola to have at his disposal and he’s performed in some big games over the years.

However, he only started around half of City’s games last season and was rarely selected for the key games, so at 32-years-old, City may feel it’s a good time to cash-in and get a decent fee for the attacker before his value drops any further.

Aymeric Laporte

The Frenchman joined Man City from Athletic Bilbao in 2017 as one of the most highly-rated young central defenders in Europe. He established himself in the first team and was a key player for much of his time at the Etihad Stadium. However, Laporte fell out-of-favour under Guardiola last season as the Spanish coach preferred Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias in his new-look system. Laporte only started 11 league games last season and played just 24 minutes of football after the group stages in the Champions League. It’s no wonder then that the defender is reportedly looking to leave in search of regular game-time this summer with Tottenham and PSG among those keen. He still has two years left on his contract so City should be able to negotiate a decent fee.

Kalvin Phillips

The midfielder forged a reputation as a top player during his time at Leeds United and it persuaded Man City to pay £45m for his services last summer. However, it’s turned out to be a disastrous move for the player as he’s struggled to make any impact at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola has questioned Phillips’ attitude after he turned up to training overweight last year and it appears the Spaniard has never taken a liking to him.

Phillips didn’t start a Champions League game last season and played just 290 minutes of Premier League action – waiting until the 21st May before making his full debut. It appears highly unlikely that the 27-year-old will be able to force his way into Guardiola’s first team plans at this stage, so it’s no surprise that Phillips is expected to leave this summer.

Joao Cancelo

The full-back joined Man City from Juventus in 2019 and quickly established himself as a key player under Guardiola. Cancelo played a vital role in helping City win the title in 2021 and 2022, and it looked as though he was set for a long and successful career at the Etihad. However, a bust-up in training saw Cancelo axed from the team and he was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich in January 2023. Reports suggest that Guardiola doesn’t want the Portuguese international to return so Cancelo is expected to be sold this summer with Arsenal among those chasing his signature. It’s a major fall from grace for the player and his absence will be sorely felt as Cancelo is a top full-back when on form. However, we cannot question the decisions of a coach like Guardiola!

So it looks like it’s going to be a busy summer ahead for Man City with a number of important players reportedly heading for the exit door. If the likes of Walker, Gundogan, Silva and Mahrez all leave then City will need to bring in top class replacements if they want to cement themselves as the best team on the planet next season.