The candidates most likely for time away from Manchester City are Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala.
More from Man City News
- Rodri believes City can have even more success this season
- Grealish, Stones, and Kovacic will NOT play tomorrow
- After Injury Guardiola is back in Etihad
- Humble Haaland Maintains Low Profile Leading Up to Ballon d’Or 2023
- Khadija Shaw and Erling Haaland nominated for NWF’s player of the season
After the arrival of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola suddenly finds themselves in a position none too familiar. City, a perennial buying club, must suddenly become a seller.
The Manchester Evening News reports that City must offload two “non-homegrown” players if it wants to name a full 25-man roster available for the Premier League season, as the club exceeds the mandated 17-player non-homegrown limit, as per league rules. So it behooves the Blues to rid themselves of some surplus players and perhaps recoup some on the funds Pep Guardiola has expended this transfer window.
Who counts as “non-homegrown” surplus? Well, any player over the age of 21 and who has not spent three seasons or 36 months in English football during the ages 16 to 21, according to Naveen Maliakkal. Nationality is not then necessarily indicative of homegrown status. For example, Gael Clichy, although French, is considered homegrown, spending the requisite time at Arsenal’s academy during his under-21 years. Likewise, Joe Hart, Fabian Delph, John Stones and Raheem Sterling all are homegrown. Leroy Sane and Kelechi Iheanacho are not problems because they’re both younger than 21.
City’s “non-homegrown” players include: Claudio Bravo, Willy Caballero, Aleksandar Kolarov, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Fernando, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva, Nolito, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Jesus Navas, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Eliaquim Mangala and Wilfried Bony. The disfavored Toure, Nasri, Mangala and Bony look to be the ones struggling for two final spots.
Toure’s exodus is unlikely, given his astronomical wages. Plus, he’s not exactly financially motivated to leave City this season. Nasri is linked to Besiktas in Turkey. Emerging rumors suggest Tottenham Hotspur is interested in buying Mangala. West Ham United apparently is considering Bony to deal with its injury woes up top. Thus far, no deals have materialized to lessen the quagmire for City.
Although there is no fine for City’s front office not meeting the 17-player mandate, it forces City to operate with a thinner squad of less than 25 players over the age of 21 for the season — though this stipulation doesn’t include FA Cup and League Cup matches This might not seem like a significant disadvantage, but given how long and grueling the Premier League and Champions League campaigns are, a deep bench could be the difference between success or disappointment. Considering possible injuries to the fragile and pivotal Kompany, this might not be a situation to ignore.
FOLLOW MAN CITY SQUARE ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK.
City has until the end of the month, when the transfer window closes, to sort out its roster before submission.
* As a clarification, City can only name a 25-man roster of available players, ages 21 and over, for selection in the Premier League season, 17 of whom can only be foreign. City currently has 19 non-homegrown players, so two will be unavailable. Players under the 21 are not subject to the rule and are therefore available. Thus, the article has been updated to reflect a clearer explanation of the Premier League rules.