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The term ‘bomb squad’ isn’t one that has ever really been needed at Manchester City. Having a group of players told to train alone and away from the rest of the first team is a sign of failure in the transfer market and in squad building.
Chelsea had a sizeable group ostracised last year as Enzo Maresca sought to cut a squad bloated by the Todd Boehly regime's transfer excesses. Now, you only need to look at Manchester United for the embarrassment it can cause.
United have five players told they aren’t needed, but none have yet left the club. With Ruben Amorim’s squad returning for pre-season training, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have all been told they can only use the Carrington facilities after 5pm, when everyone else has gone home.
That is a dreadful look and hardly conducive to creating a successful environment. Thankfully, Pep Guardiola hasn’t really had to operate in similar circumstances, at least since his first couple of summers.
That won’t drastically change this summer, but with a week to go before Guardiola and his staff welcome the players back for pre-season training, there is one issue the City boss will want sorting before July 28, and that is the future of Jack Grealish.
The 29-year-old can hardly constitute a bomb squad of one, but it is very clear that his future lies away from the Etihad, and right now he isn’t considered part of the first-team squad. Getting Kyle Walker’s future sorted before pre-season begins was a win for City, but now attention is firmly on Grealish.
Guardiola already has a sizeable squad at his disposal, and he won’t want players added to the group who he isn’t expecting to work with when the season begins at Wolves on August 16. With Kalvin Phillips injured, that is one such scenario avoided.
Grealish presents a different problem, however. City could have close to 30 outfield players in their first-team squad next week, which is already too many for Guardiola. A decision on the England international’s future this week would be ideal.
But then, this is always likely to prove the hardest deal for director of football Hugo Viana. Grealish is a £100million player coming off the back of a disappointing campaign, and his £300,000-a-week wages mean there are only a handful of clubs who could afford him.
A loan move still looks the most likely outcome, and there is Premier League interest in such a deal. It might be to City’s benefit if they look to take a deal this week that might not be as financially beneficial, with the aim of avoiding a potentially tricky situation next week.
Grealish hasn’t burnt his bridges at City to quite the extent that some of those United players have at Old Trafford, particularly Rashford and Garnacho, but he was left out of the Club World Cup because he has no future at the club.
More than a month on, he remains a City player, and next Monday is a date in the calendar all parties might have been keen to avoid. The countdown is on to get a deal over the line this week.
Man City have launched their new away shirt for the 2025/26 season, featuring an all-black design inspired by the club's earliest-known kit.
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