After Mikel Arteta, the former assistant manager to Pep Guardiola, has fully implemented his master plan, Manchester City and Arsenal are engaged in a challenging Premier League title chase.
The front office will be busy considering potential alterations for the summer 2023 transfer window as City competes in the Premier League and Champions League. After acquiring Erling Haaland last summer, they may pursue Jude Bellingham, a top player for Borussia Dortmund who is close friends with Haaland. Yet they could also bid farewell to a few players.
Here are three players who might depart Manchester City in 2023.
lkay Gündoan
The 2022–23 season will mark the end of lkay Gündoan’s contract with Manchester City, and Barcelona is already in active negotiations to acquire the player.
Until Haaland joined City and provided Guardiola with a top striker, Gündoan was City’s leading goal scorer. Over the years, he has served the Citizens in a variety of capacities. He went from being one of the fastest-rising talents in midfield in Europe with Dortmund to one of European football’s most revered personalities as a perennial title winner in Manchester.
It won’t be simple to say goodbye to Gündoan, but a change of scenery may be helpful for him as he ends his career. A little team turnover is great for keeping things interesting because so many players want a fresh challenge. Guardiola agrees.
Aymeric Laporte
In the 2022–23 Premier League season, center-back Aymeric Laporte has started just six games for Manchester City. There are many rumors that he may move this summer due to interest from top clubs like PSG.
Laporte’s significance to City and overall reputation as one of the top center-backs in European football have diminished, but he would be a very powerful addition to a team like Tottenham or PSG who is in dire need of improving their defense. The fact that Laporte is City’s backup speaks much about the caliber of center-backs the team has, especially in light of the club’s spectacular acquisition of Manuel Akanji from (there’s that club again) Dortmund.
Bernardo Silva
The fantastic Bernardo Silva, who transitioned from being a well-liked left-footed right winger with Monaco and City to being an absolute monster as a progressive midfielder for Guardiola in Manchester, has been linked to Barcelona, Real Madrid, and others.
In what is seen as the 28-year-“down” old’s year, Silva has four goals and five assists. He still has value to City, but if he decides to leave, he could be sold. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko requested to be sold last season, and City complied, even to their eventual title rivals.
Basically, Manchester City won’t stop anyone from taking on a new task. That relates to Guardiola’s goal to keep his team motivated. Hence, the Citizens are unlikely to obstruct Silva if he wants to do the “Barcelona challenge” like Robert Lewandowski did last season.
João Cancelo
The most likely candidate to depart Manchester City is João Cancelo, thus he is reserved until last. He had a falling out with Pep Guardiola, which resulted in him being loaned to Bayern Münhcen, so there is basically no chance he plays for the team in 2023–2024.
Cancelo may find some solace in the fact that Bavaria’s new manager Thomas Tuchel, despite having the same problems with a one-on-one defense that cost him his “undisputed” starter status in Manchester, is a source of optimism for the player.
Tuchel lavished praise on the adaptable fullback for his technical ability, highlighting how amazing he is in the attack and the tactical versatility his skill set can offer Bayern. The loan agreement’s permanent transfer clause is 70 million euros; but, if he manages to carve out a role, City might be able to quickly send him to Bayern.