Manchester City still have plenty of work to do in terms of letting players go who they deem surplus to requirements, with only Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker leaving this summer.
While Pep Guardiola will be delighted about the incomings of Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Marcus Bettinelli, he will be frustrated by the lack of outgoings.
In May, Guardiola joked that he would “quit” his job at Manchester City if the size of his squad was not reduced, saying via BeanymanSports: “I said to the club, I do not want that. I don’t want to keep five, six players in the tribute. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.”
Manchester City were ready to gut their squad but so far, their focus has been on adding fresh faces to their roster.
Some players have been linked with exits but like John Stones, who confirmed his stay at Manchester City, it seems like plenty of them are prepared to help the Sky Blues redeem themselves next season.
Man City should sell Manuel Akanji in the summer
One of the players who will be desperate to bounce back come the 2025/2026 campaign is Manuel Akanji.
However, based on Akanji’s displays last season, it is difficult to justify why he should be a part of Pep Guardiola’s squad any longer.
The Swiss international was one of City’s biggest underperformers, as he especially looked culpable defending in central areas — with one example being how the two-time Premier League winner failed to mark Eberechi Eze before he scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final.
Akanji made plenty of schoolboy errors, such as gifting the ball to Martin Odegaard in the lead-up to Kai Havertz’s strike in Arsenal’s 5-1 win against Manchester City.
Other examples include when the City colossus let Julian Araujo have a free run at goal when Sporting CP demolished the Sky Blues 4-1 or when he let Yoanne Wissa and Christian Norgaard unmarked in the box as Brentford earned a late 2-2 draw.
Pep Guardiola called Akanji an “intelligent” player and during his first two seasons, the versatile centre-back was one of the best defenders in the Premier League. However, with the Champions League winner turning 30 this month and having two years left on his contract, it might be time for City to cash in on him.
Abdukodir Khusanov has impressed at Manchester City and he could take Akanji’s place, who made two errors leading to goals in the league last season and so could the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones and Vitor Reis.
| PREMIER LEAGUE DEFENDERS: 2024/2025 SEASON | MOST ERRORS LEADING TO GOALS |
| TAYLOR HARWOOD-BELLIS | 4 |
| JAMES JUSTIN | 3 |
| MANUEL AKANJI (JOINT) | 2 |
With Matheus Nunes becoming Pep Guardiola’s go-to man at right-back and City in the market for an upgrade in the position anyway, the 29-year-old is no longer as key as he used to be while declining as a player.
The latest on Manuel Akanji’s future
However, Pep Guardiola confirmed Akanji will stay at Manchester City in March and as a result, it would be a surprise if they decided to part ways with him now.
Guardiola said: “Next season, John will be there, Nathan [Ake], Manu [Akanji]will be fine, Rodri will recover perfectly, Oscar [Bobb] will be back… Do we buy three more holding midfielders, seven more central defenders? It’s not about that. Its just, be lucky, take right decisions. Sometimes we don’t do that and pray.”
