Man City transfer plans for final week of window could become clearer vs Tottenham

Manchester City are back in action on Saturday lunchtime and with the potential for players to return at the Etihad there will be an eye on selection calls.

Rodri and Phil Foden could return to the City side after not making the bench at Wolves

The talk of exits from the Etihad has ramped up again in recent days. Manuel Akanji could be heading off to Galatasaray, Nathan Ake has been linked with a Premier League switch, and Ilkay Gundogan could yet depart after one season back at Manchester City.

With the September 1 deadline looming, City's need to sell players and trim a bloated squad, particularly in the centre of defence and midfield, has come into sharper focus. Pep Guardiola would have wanted his sizeable first-team squad reduced by now.

Instead, he is having to juggle his options. At Wolves last week, some decisions were made for him. The absence of Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Savinho due to injury helped create room in the squad, while Rodri and Phil Foden were left out as their returns are carefully managed.

But ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Tottenham, Guardiola's selection options might well be increasing, which in many ways is the last thing the Catalan wants at the moment, as he explained when asked about the squad after the 4-0 win at Molineux.

"Too much. Too many people," he said. "It’s not about Eddy [Ederson], today was Rodri and Phil and Kovacic and Savinho and Josko. On the bench we had Nathan and Gundo.

"I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions but I don’t want to leave players at home. It’s not healthy. You cannot create a good vibe or atmosphere to compete.

"The club has known it since last season but the situation is what it is. In the next two weeks, people will talk with players and agents to find a solution."

A solution for Akanji is beginning to take shape if he wants it, but come Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at the Etihad, it's possible that nobody involved last week will have left the club and that Rodri and Foden will be in contention to face Thomas Frank's side at the very least.

We will get a clearer indication of the availability of some of these players when Guardiola holds his press conference on Friday lunchtime. Kovacic won't be available, but Gvardiol and Savinho should be fit again soon.

If, at the bare minimum, Rodri and Foden return, then who drops out of the squad? There were three centre-backs involved last week, so Akanji could make way if he is close to a move to Galatasaray. With Matheus Nunes offering full-back cover, Foden's selection is likely to mean one of Gundogan or Nico O'Reilly drops out. It was the academy graduate who came off the bench for Bernardo Silva midway through the second half last week.

Should Gvardiol return, then it might be that Nathan Ake or Abdukodir Khusanov drops out of the squad, while Savinho's return will create a real dilemma. Oscar Bobb performed well at Wolves and would be unfortunate to find himself out of a 20-man squad, but Rayan Cherki is clearly not going to make way.

With availability improving, Guardiola's problem of telling players they aren't involved is becoming clear. Who he opts to leave out this weekend might give us a clearer indication of who City want to move on in the final week of the window.

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.