Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is ready to sanction a summer clear-out of eight senior stars, with Jack Grealish among the group of unwanted players.
City are suffering a turbulent campaign that has seen them dramatically slip away from the Premier League title race and exit the Champions League at the play-off stage following their 6-3 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid.
A number of Guardiola’s men have underperformed this season and the Spaniard will look to cash in on a handful of them as he looks to overhaul his ageing squad and usher in a new era.
Grealish is expected to be one of the first names at City moved in this summer after struggling to get in Guardiola’s team of late. The former Aston Villa star – who cost the club £100m in 2021 – has only made six starts in the Premier League this season.
The England star is one of ten City players who will be aged 30 or over at the end of the year, with many of them approaching the end of their prime days.
Alongside Grealish, City are expected to listen to offers for Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson and Kyle Walker.
De Bruyne was one City’s talisman in midfield but has been forced to accept a bench role under Guardiola of late and has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League.
Walker, meanwhile, left for AC Milan on loan in January after telling Guardiola he wanted a new challenge and is not expected to return.
It comes at a time when City are already looking to the future after signing four players in January to bolster their ranks and add more young talent to the squad.
Defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis both arrived alongside midfielder Nico Gonzalez from FC Portot and forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
