After every season there are plenty of names that fans want to leave their club. But after a season that includes a potential domestic treble, it’s hard to be greedy. Manchester City have an outstanding squad of players, but every squad needs change. And for City to recruit the new players they crave, first the current ones need to leave their post.
So let’s take a look at some of the players who could lead this summer. This is a list of five names that have real potential to leave this summer, and one out of contract captain.
Five Potential Man City Departures
Vincent Kompany
It is sad to say but as of this moment, Vincent Kompany’s time at the Etihad may be coming to an end. The big Belgian centre-back is out of contract in just over two months but has made it clear that after the season is the time to talk about a contract. Right now he wants to finish out the season and go from there.
But that does not mean he hasn’t already made his decision; he wants to stay. Manchester City also want him to stay but it is going to be at the right price. It shouldn’t be an obstacle, but only time can tell for sure.
Nicolas Otamendi
One of the things that makes Nicolas Otamendi such a great player is how durable he is. In four seasons at the Etihad Otamendi has barely been injured. Up until this season, he had been a full-time starter at centre-back, both for Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola. But times have changed for Otamendi, and that is making him look elsewhere.
This season he lost his starting place to John Stones. Stones had been brought in two seasons ago by Pep to eventually be the right-sided centre-back. And with Aymeric Laporte entrenched on the other side, Otamendi has nowhere to go. So he wants to leave, and it is expected that City will not stand in his way.
Nor should they frankly, even if he wants to join a Premier League club. Otamendi has done well for City, he’s been one of the first names on the team sheet over the last four years. He will always have a strong link to the club and the great memories of this great period. In the end, it’s probably better for both parties if they got their separate ways.
Fabian Delph
If there was ever a poster boy for going to too big a club, its Fabian Delph. The English midfielder has been playing for Manchester City for four seasons now after moving from Aston Villa in the summer of 2015. Making the move from a cellar-dwelling Villa side to a team fighting for the league seemed like a bit of reach.
But Delph has been a loyal servant to Manchester City. He barely played his first two seasons, however, he came up huge last season. When Benjamin Mendy went down, Delph took control of the left-back position. He started 21 games there, a position he had never played, and played it quite well. So well that City decided he could be the deputy left-back again this season.
Sadly, Delph’s golden touch did not last. He has really been nothing short of awful this season, contributing errors almost every time he played. His errors led directly to goals in three out of four losses in the Premier League, and his error led to Son Heung-Min’s goal in the first leg of the UCL quarter-final. He served City well but it appears his time is up.
Ilkay Gundogan
After suffering a terrible injury in his first season, Ilkay Gundogan has really shown himself for Manchester City. The 28-year-old German midfielder has now made 30 league appearances in back-to-back seasons. This season has been his most vital though as he has deputized for Fernandinho down the stretch of this season beautifully.
But like Otamendi, Gundogan wants to go somewhere where he is one of the first names on the team sheet. And despite playing well in deputy, Pep Guardiola does not consider Ilkay Gundogan a long term solution at that position. He is a great passer from deep-lying positions but does not have the necessary steel to play that position in the Premier League.
Danilo
It was seen as a very strange move when Manchester City announced the signing of Danilo from Real Madrid. Danilo had frankly, not been that great in Spain, but he has been a competent deputy for Manchester City. Whenever Kyle Walker has been hurt, or out of form, Danilo has stepped in and filled his role quite well.
But that isn’t the only role he has filled when asked. He has played better than Fabian Delph this season in the left-back position. He has even spent some time playing in the defensive midfield position, holding his own. So he will look to leave City with Inter Milan hot after him, but it remains to be seen if Inter will meet the correct compensation.
Leroy Sane
Finally, let’s take a look at potentially the biggest departure from the Manchester City squad; Leroy Sane. Sane would be within his rights to look elsewhere after a very strange season at the Etihad. His talent has always been without question, nor is his production, as he is the only Man City player with double-digit Premier League goals and assists.
However, like the German National Team coach before World Cup 2018, Pep Guardiola has questions about Sane’s commitment. His demeanour lends itself to questioning, he is a quiet kid who doesn’t get too down on himself if things go wrong. But in times when his defensive work has been lacking, both coaches have left him out to try and get a rise out of him.
It’s really hard to say whether it is a tactic that works at all. Pep left Sane on the bench in favour of Riyad Mahrez in the first leg of the UCL quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur because of Mahrez commitment to tracking back. The high press is the biggest reason why Bernardo Silva has made one of the front three positions his.
So Sane will be faced with a choice this summer. He will have to choose whether to stay or go, stay on the left or embrace the right and decide how much tracking back he really wants to do. If he stays it is likely he will have to be a backup. Assuming everyone is healthy Sane would be the second choice left-wing in the best case, is he content with that?
The Returns
Luckily for Manchester City, the market is in a place where getting something like £250 million for these players is obtainable. Leroy Sane could sell for over £150 million on the open market. Getting £100 million from the other four names on the list expecting to leave doesn’t seem impossible at all.
However, getting to those numbers will be crucial for Manchester City. No matter what happens the rest of the season, they want to achieve European success next season. At the very least get past the quarter-final stage, something Pep has failed to do since his first season at Bayern Munich. This summer will go a long way to seeing that realized.
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