Man City transfer targets show squad priority as Hugo Viana narrows search

Manchester City have looked at domestic players this summer and if they fail to pull off a couple of deals it might be a similar story next term.

City were interested in Morgan Gibbs-White earlier in the summer

The likely Manchester City departures this summer tell a story about Hugo Viana's attempts to reshape Pep Guardiola's squad. With Kyle Walker already gone, Kalvin Phillips, James McAtee, and Jack Grealish are likely to follow before the transfer window closes.

That quartet might all now be expendable on the pitch, but their exits will present something of a headache for Viana and Guardiola off it. After making eight signings already in 2025, there might be a view that they have already been replaced, but it isn't that simple.

City's £291million spending this year has almost exclusively been on foreign players, aside from Marcus Bettinelli's arrival to replace Scott Carson as third-choice goalkeeper. This matters because UEFA and the Premier League require eight members of a 25-man squad to be classed as homegrown.

If Phillips, McAtee, and Grealish also depart this summer, City will be a little short in that area. Marcus Bettinelli, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Nico O'Reilly, Oscar Bobb, and Phil Foden would still fit that category, but not all of their futures are secure beyond next summer.

It leaves City with a need to sign British players or players who have spent a large part of their formative years in an English academy, which explains why there has been a focus on certain players during this window.

The Blues might yet bring James Trafford back to the club, with the 22-year-old keen to rejoin City, who want to sell Ederson or Stefan Ortega before trying to sign him from Burnley. Trafford would be classed as homegrown and academy-trained, having spent eight years at the Etihad before his move to Turf Moor.

But he isn't the only English player City have considered this summer. With Walker's eight-year stay at the club at an end, they need a new right-back, and with spaces in the squad few and far between, it has made sense to prioritise domestic candidates.

Tino Livramento was the obvious target, and City held an interest in the England Under-21 international earlier in the summer but never made a bid, with Newcastle digging their heels in. The Magpies' qualification for the Champions League eased their fears around the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and reduced the need to sell.

Livramento is now being offered a new long-term contract at St James' Park, and unless it contains a release clause, it might end any chance of a move to City next summer. The market for English right-backs after that is thin on the ground, and according to the respected Transfermarkt website, their third most valuable English right-back is Lewis, who is already at City.

At the start of the summer, City's other homegrown target was Morgan Gibbs-White. The 25-year-old had been expected to leave Nottingham Forest this summer, but his future has been one of the more unusual stories of the window.

City had initially been quoted a fee of around £100million for the attacking midfielder, who impressed at the City Ground last season. However, they looked to have turned their attentions elsewhere when they wrapped up a £31million deal for Rayan Cherki from Lyon instead.

But Tottenham activated a £60million release clause in Gibbs-White's contract last week, only for Forest to report them to the Premier League, with that deal now on hold.

It does open up a window of opportunity for City to return to the table for the England international, although they are likely to need to offload at least one of Nico Gonzalez and Ilkay Gundogan to find space in their squad for Gibbs-White.

If the former Wolves midfielder does end up moving to Spurs, it could again send City back to the drawing board if they look for an attacking midfielder again next term, especially if their search parameter again requires that player to be homegrown.

The focus on Trafford, Livramento and Gibbs-White this summer shows that it is a live issue within the squad and one that helps to explain some of the players being targeted.