Two former Man City players have just proved Pep Guardiola's point over squad rebuild

There were some big name departures at Manchester City this summer but a refresh of the squad was badly needed.

Pep Guardiola has significantly refreshed his City squad in 2025

The pace of change at Manchester City has been rapid this year, and that is best explained by the team to face Tottenham on Saturday, which included more players signed in 2025 than those who had been with the club through the years of success.

It's hard to describe this as a new era at the Etihad when Pep Guardiola is still the man in charge and into his 10th season, but aside from the Catalan, plenty else has changed, from the playing cast to the director of football.

Guardiola himself has spoken of a new team this summer and said after that defeat to Spurs that "this is the team we're going to have for the next years."

In total, there have been seven major first-team signings in 2025, as well as Vitor Reis and Sverre Nypan, who are spending this season out on loan but are expected to make an impact eventually. Only Abduokodir Khusanov of those seven didn't start this weekend.

The squad also feels different, given the youth involved. Oscar Bobb's first-team involvement is still relatively minimal after his injury issues last season, and Rico Lewis has forced himself back into the starting XI.

But in addition to a series of new faces, there have been some major departures, with more in the offing over the final week of the transfer window. In Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jack Grealish, City lost three players this summer with a combined 898 appearances for the club.

That is an awful lot of institutional know-how and experience to lose, and it gives the squad a very different feel. But it might also be the case that a refresh was needed.

Walker and Grealish have made headlines this weekend, and what both men had to say shows why Guardiola might have wanted to bring a different dynamic to the dressing room. This also explains his decision to appoint the captain this summer and reshape the leadership group.

Walker's interview in The Telegraph didn't go down well with many City supporters. Some of his comments hint at the issues behind the scenes and describe a fractious squad midway through last season, when results spiralled in the autumn.

“I felt, I don’t want to say scapegoat because I don’t want to bring out the violins. But I was the captain and the team wasn’t doing well," said Walker. "There were big players missing in big periods in that season and I felt just like I was getting…not blamed. I won’t say blamed but I felt I was the excuse because I was the captain.”

Walker also gave the impression that he felt some people at City no longer wanted him to be captain and he painted a picture of a lack of unity within the club. He burnt bridges at City and this won't have helped.

Grealish's situation is a little different. After shining on his first start for Everton, he took responsibility for his problems but admitted to no longer enjoying his football at the Etihad.

“The main thing was to enjoy football and enjoy playing every day. I think maybe at times in the last couple of years I’ve not fallen out of love, but didn’t enjoy football as much as I should," he said.

“My family said it to me at times when I was at home. That’s down to nobody but myself."

Walker left City permanently this summer, but Grealish's move to Merseyside is only temporary, although Everton have an option to buy. But as he reflected on his time at City, it certainly felt like Grealish was closing the door on that chapter.

For all the experience that Guardiola has lost in the dressing room this summer, a picture is emerging of a group that needed change. That is happening quickly now, but perhaps that is exactly what was needed.