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Manchester City are into the final seven days of the transfer window and there is a lot still to sort out
Manchester City enter the final seven days of the transfer window needing imminent clarity on a situation that has got messy in the last few weeks.
Four of the most-used XI from last season could yet leave the club this summer but time is running out to give Pep Guardiola the streamlined squad that he craves.
Two games into the season, the No.1 position is still a mystery. Ederson trained last week but was only given a place on the bench after missing the Wolves match amid strong interest from Galatasaray.
That has not gone away, although it is now a couple of weeks since the transfer was reported as imminent and the Brazilian looked in no hurry as he strolled out of the Etihad after Saturday's game. There is still plenty of work to be done for that deal to be done.
Gianluigi Donnarumma said a grand farewell to Paris Saint-Germain on Friday and City have spoken to the club about signing him given he has one year left on his deal, yet that deal can only start to move if Ederson leaves.
Then there is Stefan Ortega, who was told he could leave when City signed James Trafford at the beginning of the month but stepped into the squad amid confusion on Ederson and injury to new third-choice Marcus Bettinelli - even if he surely cannot stay beyond the window.
Savinho went as far as posting a picture on social media with a suitcase in the corner, becoming the first footballer in history to visualise the transfer cliche of having your bags packed for a transfer. City are holding out for a huge fee from Tottenham though, and a deal is now further complicated by the fact that reports from Spain on Tuesday claim Real Madrid star Rodrygo - a key target for City to replace Savinho - will not leave the club after all in this window.
Manu Akanji has interest from Galatasaray and Crystal Palace, and the player did not immediately dismiss the idea of leaving City even if he has publicly disputed a reporter's suggestion that he had received an offer to leave. He was left out of the matchday squad by Guardiola on Saturday, along with Ilkay Gundogan who has also started to be linked with an exit.
Losing Ederson, Akanji, Gundogan and Savinho would wipe four of Guardiola's eleven most used players from the squad last season, and Ortega going as well would be an almighty clearout for the final week of the window.
City need to do at least some of that business as they currently have two too many non-homegrown players to register for the Champions League squad, but with seven days to go it remains clear how many will go and who that will be.
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