Manchester City are set to begin their preseason period ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 season.
In their previous season, Pep Guardiola’s side became the first team to win four consecutive Premier League trophies, although were unable to regain the Champions League or FA Cup.
After City saw more of their players (14) feature in the 2024 European Championship than any other side in the Premier League, the Manchester club are now gearing up for their preseason tour of America.
In fact, the club recently announced their travelling squad for this tour, which will see the Blues play friendly matches against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.
With that in mind, we have pinpointed three players in the squad who we feel will need to convince Guardiola that they have what it takes to potentially be important figures in the first team when the season starts.
Jack Grealish
Having only started 10 of the 20 Premier League games he appeared in last season, Grealish admitted at the end of the campaign in an interview with The Athletic that he struggled with various factors on and off the pitch.
This then led to the winger being left out of the England squad for the Euros, adding another disappointment for the three-time Premier League champion to have to deal with.
These setbacks and the upcoming preseason period, however, could now be used as a spark for Grealish to get his City career back on track and convince Guardiola that he can reliable and effective in the team as a regular contributor.
Oscar Bobb
Bobb started to make a name for himself in City’s first team last season, most notably by scoring a late winner in the 3-2 Premier League victory over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
However, the recent arrival of Savinho could lead to the 21-year-old, who only started two top-flight games last season, having even more competition in terms of getting regular minutes in the team.
Therefore, we feel that Bobb is another player in the squad who will be aiming to prove himself to Guardiola and stake a claim to get even more game time in the upcoming campaign.
Kalvin Phillips
While Guardiola has seemingly never been convinced by Phillips‘ ability to be a regular starter for City, this preseason tour and the upcoming friendly games could give the Englishman the chance to get his fitness on track and show the manager he could be a more reliable understudy to Rodri.
However, it could also give other clubs the chance to see if it would be worth striking a deal to take the midfielder away from the Etihad Stadium.
Either way, given the difficulties the 28-year-old has faced over the previous months, his main focus over the next few weeks will undoubtedly be to do the best he can and see what the next step could be before the summer transfer window closes.
