“Report”Pep Guardiola explained to De Bruyne why he have to leave Man City today as he deal to Al-Nassr was approved today.
“Report”Pep Guardiola explained to De Bruyne why he have to leave Man City today as he deal to Al-Nassr was approved today.
Julian Alvarez of Manchester City shoots during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Etihad Stadium
Shaka Hislop says Man City would regret letting £14m player leave
Mon 29 July 2024 12:30
Tom Procter
Manchester City would potentially regret letting one of their players leave this summer, according to Shaka Hislop.
So far this summer, a handful of players have left the Etihad Stadium, but they have been mainly youngsters.
Sergio Gomez is the only player from last season’s first-team to depart so far. He has gone back to Spain to play for Real Sociedad.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson have been targeted by clubs in Saudi Arabia, and it remains a possibility that Ederson could leave, but De Bruyne now looks set to stay.
One other player who’s had a bit of speculation about his future this summer is Julian Alvarez – who is a player Shaka Hislop reckons Manchester City would regret offloading.
Shaka Hislop insists Man City would ‘regret’ letting Julian Alvarez leave
Julian Alvarez of Argentina gestures during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Final match between Argentina and Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium on July …
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
MORE MAN CITY STORIES
Alvarez has reportedly been unhappy with his situation for most of 2024.
The Argentina international started last season in the team as a result of the injury to De Bruyne, and featured heavily in the first half of the campaign.
But once De Bruyne returned, and also Erling Haaland, minutes became harder to come by for the former River Plate man.
Alvarez – who cost City just £14 million – actually finished the season with the most appearances of any City player across all competitions. But in terms of minutes played, there were eight other players ahead of him.
He is a target for Atletico Madrid, although the Spanish club will struggle to afford the South American.
Shaka Hislop has been speaking about the interest in him, and he believes it would be a mistake for City to cash in. However, he understands Alvarez wanting out.
He said in a new video for ESPN UK: “I think City would regret letting him go, I just think Julian Alvarez has been that good. And as number twos go, I don’t think they come any better. From Julian Alvarez’s perspective absolutely – given what he has done for City, for Argentina, absolutely you walk into just about any other starting lineup anywhere else.
“But there’s Erling Haaland at Manchester City and you are playing second fiddle. From Julian Alvarez’s perspective, absolutely yes, I am moving on, but the balancing act becomes for City because he can play in so many different positions and does each of those wonderfully well.”
Alvarez has been a great signing but should be deemed unsellable
READ MORE: Who is Julian Alvarez? Get to know Man City’s World Cup hero they signed for just £14m
The coming weeks will be interesting regarding what happens with Alvarez.
Him wanting out is somewhat understandable because he knows that he will not play over the likes of De Bruyne, Haaland and Phil Foden. He would start for plenty of other clubs in Europe.
As for whether City would regret offloading him, this is doubtful.
While Alvarez has contributed good goals and assist numbers since signing, he has never really been City’s main man. And he likely will never will be while Haaland is around.
The issue for City with this is just timing.
It would not be a straightforward task replacing him at this stage, and City already have a lot of players returning late.
TRANSFERS
Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich and Joao Cancelo of Manchester City during the preseason friendly match between Manchester City and Bayern Muenchen at…Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Man City player will not join up with Pep Guardiola and the squad for US pre-season tour
Mon 29 July 2024 10:30
Tom Procter
One Manchester City player will not be joining up with the squad in the US for pre-season.
Pep Guardiola has overseen two games so far; the first against Celtic in North Carolina and the second against AC Milan in New York.
City lost both games. But as everyone knows, results in pre-season are not particularly important.
This is a chance for Guardiola to take a look at some of his fringe and young players, with several first-team stars still on vacation following their exploits at international tournaments.
One player who is currently on holiday is Joao Cancelo, who is still not in the plans of the manager after the pair fell out midway through the 2022/23 season.
Joao Cancelo set to miss Manchester City’s pre-season tour of the US
Joao Cancelo and Antonio Silva of Portugal applaud the fans following the final whistle of the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final match between Portugal …
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
MORE MAN CITY STORIES
It has been reported by SPORT today that Cancelo will not participate in Manchester City’s tour of the US.
This follows an earlier claim that Guardiola did not want the player to be involved.
The players who featured at Euro 2024 are set to join up with the squad in the coming days. But it seems Cancelo, who played for Portugal along with Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes, will not be accompanying the rest of the squad.
This is because he is currently the subject of a pursuit by Barcelona, who want to re-sign him after his loan spell last season.
It is a tricky situation because Cancelo only wants to rejoin Barca, but the Spanish giants cannot afford to buy him permanently.
They are trying to facilitate a loan move at the moment. Supposedly, they would be willing to pay City a £7 million loan fee.
It is stated by SPORT that a move could come to fruition in the final days of the window.
Cancelo apparently won’t be joining City’s tour of the US, but he will report back to the club once they return, if he hasn’t already been offloaded.
Cancelo’s days at Man City seem over
READ MORE: Joao Cancelo has now decided where he wants to go if Barcelona move collapses
So Cancelo is set to miss Manchester City‘s pre-season tour of the US, and it probably doesn’t come as any real surprise.
Ever since the player headed out on loan to Bayern Munich following the reported falling out with Guardiola, there has been no indication that there will be a way back for him.
SPORT say in their report that Guardiola does not want the player in his squad, and it does seem a question of when he will leave this summer not if.
But it remains to be seen if Cancelo can actually be sold. All the indications so far this summer have been that City will struggle.