James Trafford stance, Rodri future, John Stones latest- your Man City questions answered

This week's Q&A takes a look at the potential exits from the Manchester City squad this summer with departures expected

The Manchester City bandwagon rolls on. A 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final was followed up by a 4-0 walloping of Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final that books another trip to Wembley for the Blues and adds to their momentum.

Up next is a tough trip to Chelsea in the Premier League as Pep Guardiola and his side look to keep the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table. With so much going on at the club, we'll be hosting weekly Q&A sessions with our chief City writer Simon Bajkowski.

The day of the week it comes out on may change depending on what City's schedule looks like, but essentially this is your chance to get an answer on anything you want - simply pop your question here at any time of the week and Simon will pick them all up and wrap everything up in one place.

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This week we are looking at some of the departures that can be expected in the summer transfer window. Bernardo Silva's exit was confirmed by assistant manager Pep Lijnders at the weekend but more will leave as the transformation of the squad continues.

Is Trafford leaving this summer? Dan

Do you think Trafford’s recent performances will sway the club into keeping him or is the situation too far gone and he is already out the door? Joshua

I think it is more about swaying James Trafford rather than swaying the club. City want to keep him, which is why they did not let him go in January when he was open to a move to consolidate his place in the England squad. Trafford has probably done that with his performances against Arsenal and Liverpool, yet those show what he is capable of on a regular basis and if he is doing that weekly then he can be pushing Jordan Pickford as England's No.1

As it stands, he will get a move and City will lose a top goalkeeper but at least make their money back if not a profit on the sum they paid to Burnley last year. As much as Blues want to keep Trafford, nobody can begrudge him leaving after the way he has behaved and performed this season when things really didn't turn out how he was expecting.

After the recent performances from beating Arsenal and beating Liverpool, do you think City will carry that positive momentum with them in the Premier League this season with consistency? City can be very inconsistent from time to time especially this season. Also do you think there’s a chance that City can win the league? Adiel

There is definitely a chance that City can win the league, and a bigger chance after beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final. But they are still firmly second-favourites to do it and have shown consistently through the season that they have had one too many wobbles in them to be the frontrunners. After fantastic results against Arsenal and Liverpool in the domestic cups, the next crunch comes on Sunday at Chelsea where City simply have to win to keep the pressure on at the top.

With Arsenal hosting Bournemouth the day before, City could be kicking off at Stamford Bridge with two games in hand but 12 points behind and that is a big gap psychologically as much as anything once it gets to double points. If they can beat Chelsea, they will fancy their chances against Arsenal next week for a game that won't put them top but will really challenge Mikel Arteta's side.

Nobody is convinced that City can put that perfect winning run together, yet all they can do is take it one game at a time and see how they go.

Hey Simon. I love the ways you keep engaging with fans that how journalism should be . To my questions, is Rodri that desperate to leave City to experience new challenges especially return to Spain? I think losing him and Bernardo will be big loss. Look at how we are playing after he returns and think we should keep him even if he wants to leave because we have done that with Bernardo for the last 5 years. Also, is right back necessary after Nunes performance this season? Thanks. Bhan G

Hi Bhan, thanks for the kind words. To your first question, no Rodri isn't that desperate to leave City but it is natural for Spanish players to want to be playing in Spain and given the uncertainty around Pep Guardiola's future each member of the squad is entitled to think about where they want to be playing. That said, there is still plenty of belief at City that Rodri will sign a new deal that will keep him here for at least a few more years - it would be a big ask to replace Rodri and Bernardo Silva in the same year.

Nunes has been excellent this season, one of City's most consistent performers, and most of the limp defeats have come without the right-back in the team. City could do with the extra cover though both because they have to protect themselves if Nunes is injured but also to keep the player and the squad competitive. Rayan Ait-Nouri took his time to settle but has been a good option at left-back this year alongside Nico O'Reilly.

What do you think about the recently launched supporters’ trust, and how will it impact the fanbase? John Parker

Hi John, thanks for the question. To answer the second bit first, I've no idea how it will impact the fanbase but I know a few of the people involved in setting it up - we have also recorded an episode of our podcast with three of the interim board where they talk more about it - and I can say that it has been set up by supporters for supporters.

I suppose the impact will be determined by the members that sign up and what say they have in what the trust stands for but for £5 for a year (I think it goes up to £10 for the year if you miss the early offer) that seems like not a lot of money to pay to see what the trust is and if it is to your liking. We've seen what City fans can achieve when they get together and to me the trust is another opportunity for fans to be organised and collective, so if you can afford it I'd personally recommend signing up and seeing what you think.

Situation on John Stones and Ake? Ali

John Stones is coming up to the end of his contract and he is not expected to sign a new deal. On his day he is still a wonderfully accomplished defender and he should be able to find a very good club where he can play once a week at the highest level, but his body has let him down over the last few years in the effort to play multiple games a week.

Nathan Ake has an extra year left and Guardiola adores him, but it is still likely time to say goodbye this summer. City will have Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov going into next year and while they will need a fifth centre-back to add to that group it will likely be somebody who starts as fifth choice.

Ake has had conversations with Guardiola this year about his lack of game time and he has been told on a few occasions by Dutch national team boss Ronald Koeman that he needs to be playing for so unless he is willing to be fifth choice the 31-year-old will move on. He's in a similar position to Stones whereby he still has the legs left to be able to play in the English top flight or abroad.

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