Why are Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku not listed in Manchester City’s 25-man Premier League squad for the 2023/24 campaign?
Plenty of Manchester City fans have been asking about the £77.6m defender and the £55.5m forward after Premier League clubs released their official squads, as they are nowhere to be seen in the 25-man list.
So, why are Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku not listed in the 25-man Manchester City squad? Let’s take a look…
Why Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku have not been listed in Manchester City’s 25-man Premier League squad
Well, Pep Guardiola doesn’t actually need to name the £133.1m duo in his 25-man Premier League squad, as they fall into the 21 or under bracket.
Doku and Gvardiol are both 21 years of age.
Those who are 21 or under do not actually take up a space in a 25-man Premier League squad, nor do homegrown players such as Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb.
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Therefore, Guardiola actually has five spots remaining in his 25-man list, so Manchester City have plenty of room to do some January business if need be.
James McAtee also falls into the second section of Manchester City’s squad, meaning he would be allowed to play some part in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign for the Citizens if his loan to Sheffield United ended prematurely for any reason.
The same goes for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who is on loan at Southampton this season.
It speaks volumes about Manchester City’s superb recruitment that Guardiola doesn’t even need to name Gvardiol and Doku in his 25-man Premier League squad, despite spending significant sums to secure their signatures.
Their current level of ability – at the age of just 21 – is seriously frightening, and there is no doubt that the Citizens have two potentially elite footballers on their hands if all goes to plan.
Coupled with the precocious Bobb and Lewis, the future is looking very bright for Manchester City.