Manchester City’s recent results and performances have left the football world confused and the club’s supporters yearning for change.
Manager Pep Guardiola is normally circumspect about the January transfer window but even he has been very clear that his Premier League champions need to do something, and that the situation is recognised at all levels of the City organisation.
With links to several players in recent weeks, some poor performances from some beloved club legends, Guardiola signing a new contract to summer 2027 and director of football Txiki Begiristain ready to hand over the reins to Hugo Viana in the summer, it feels like City are ready for a new era.
So that begs the question… what will become of their current crop of players? Most of them have been fundamental pillars in arguably the best team in Premier League history, and are some of the best footballers the competition has ever seen. But this is an ageing squad, and one increasingly susceptible to injury.
Interesting times lie ahead for City, so The Athletic has taken a look at the state of play in their current squad and how things might pan out in 2025.
Goalkeepers
Ederson
Age: 31
Contract expires: 2026
Presumably not a player City would be happy to see go but given he wanted a new challenge outside England last summer after seven years at the Etihad, it would be no surprise if his future was uncertain again in the coming months. Ederson has been one of the most fundamental parts of the Guardiola era and not necessarily one you would want to usher out in the name of a squad refresh, especially with several other senior players expected to move on. But in this case, it may well be the player’s own desire to go that moves the needle.
Stefan Ortega
Age: 32
Contract expires: 2026
Ortega signed a new contract last summer, when it was widely expected that he would move on to become first-choice elsewhere. He has had a spell as Guardiola’s No 1 of late and could be looking at more of the same if Ederson does leave. Presumably, then, he’s one of the players more likely to stay put.
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Scott Carson
Age: 39
Contract expires: 2025
City’s beloved third-choice keeps signing one-year contracts and is valued for his dressing-room contributions above anything else, considering his most recent appearance came just shy of three years ago. Would be great to have around in a new-look squad as long as both parties are happy to continue.
Defenders
Kyle Walker
Age: 34
Contract expires: 2026
It does feel like his City career is coming to an end, given his on-pitch struggles this season, as well as links to clubs in Saudi Arabia and with an oft-mooted return to boyhood club Sheffield United (who may well be back in the Premier League for 2025-26). Walker will be 35 at the start of that season, so everything adds up to a change at right-back for City going into it. He is another, like Ederson, who has been a key part of City’s success under Guardiola.
Rico Lewis
Age: 20
Contract expires: 2028
Has struggled, like everybody else, this season but is surely a part of City’s future, especially as Guardiola is a major fan, as well as his status as a top graduate from their academy. Lewis is useful in several positions and it would make complete sense for him to be at the club next season — as long as he wants to be, which is presumably the case.
Manuel Akanji
Age: 29
Contract expires: 2027
At this point, it feels almost redundant to acknowledge specific downturns in performance levels because pretty much everybody has been affected, and that has certainly been the case for Akanji, who, to be fair to him, has been playing with frequent fitness problems since November. He is versatile and, on his day, very solid. City are surely in no rush to move him on.
John Stones
Age: 30
Contract expires: 2026
This may be a tougher conversation. On his day, Stones is probably City’s best central defender, an old-fashioned, stylish libero and perhaps even the best centre-back in the country. However, that sort of form was last seen consistently in the 2022-23 treble season and his injury struggles since then, and before, might mean that if City are having a clear-out, or simply making space for a new face — they like French club Lens’ 20-year-old defender Abdukodir Khusanov — then Stones might be the one to make way.
It would be a bitter pill to swallow for City fans, as he is incredibly popular and has generally avoided this season’s woes due to yet more fitness problems, but it could be those that do for him, if one of their four central defenders is to be moved on. His current deal expires in 18 months, although he has gone into the final year of his contract before and earned a new one thanks to a brilliant season.
Who of Walker, Stones, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips and Oscar Bobb will still be with City in 2025-26? (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Ruben Dias
Age: 27
Contract expires: 2027
There have been rumours about City cashing in on Dias, but that seems peculiar given he has been one of their best players this season, and has been obvious future captain material since joining them four years ago. Dias has succumbed to injuries as well this season, largely due to having to play too much, but fitness is not usually an issue for him and you would think he has plenty of time on his side at the Etihad, especially with other defenders in line to move on.
Nathan Ake
Age: 29
Contract expires: 2027
You could argue that his fitness problems may put him in a difficult position, much like Stones, although Guardiola has often appeared irked by the Englishman’s absences over the years, which he has never let on publicly about Ake. When available, the Netherlands international is an ultra-reliable defender and, again, not an obvious candidate to move on at a time of uncertainty elsewhere in the squad.
Josko Gvardiol
Age: 22
Contract expires: 2028
Gvardiol has struggled recently but he’s been at the club less than 18 months and is clearly top-class. He is surely a cornerstone of future City sides.
Gvardiol and Dias will surely remain integral to City’s plans next season (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Midfielders/forwards
Mateo Kovacic
Age: 30
Contract expires: 2027
Kovacic is not the right man to replace long-term injury absentee Rodri and has found the holding role difficult — a job also made harder by the ease with which teams play through the players being fielded in the positions ahead of him — but is and will still be a very solid player in a more settled midfield — ie, one with Rodri (or another specialist holder) in it.
Rodri
Age: 28
Contract expires: 2027
Real Madrid had been sniffing around before September’s season-ending knee injury, then rained all over his Ballon d’Or parade the following month, which might hamper any hopes they have of signing him in the future. City’s issues this season run far deeper than just the Spaniard’s absence, but it is entirely fair to say that his importance to the team has been highlighted even further while he’s been out. His deal expires in two years, hence the Madrid interest, and City should be moving mountains to keep him.
Ilkay Gundogan
Age: 34
Contract expires: 2025
Galatasaray officials have been talking about the possibility of signing him in the summer, hinting at the fact that they would have liked to sign him in this window, but have been told that will not happen. Gundogan signed a one-year deal with an option for a further 12 months when re-joining City from Barcelona in the summer, and at this rate it feels like that second year might be one too far.
He has genuine ambitions to join Guardiola’s staff at some point in the near future, so any offers from Galatasaray or elsewhere might have to be weighed against retiring and becoming a coach immediately — unless he can have the best of both worlds by moving on (again) and returning (again) at a later date. It would be a shame if he were to leave under the current circumstances; memories of his past contributions won’t be tarnished by current issues but, so far, this season is turning out to be a sad final chapter.
Gundogan’s return to City has not been very successful (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Kevin De Bruyne
Age: 33
Contract expires: 2025
Like Gundogan, De Bruyne is another club legend who appears ready for an exit in the summer. Injuries have held him back this season and his performances have dipped at times, as well, which is a similar story to 2023-24. He still made plenty of telling contributions last term and probably will do again in the coming six months, but it might be that his glittering City career is coming to an end, given his contract expires in the summer (just after he turns 34), with a move to MLS in this window still a possibility (see below).
Phil Foden
Age: 24
Contract expires: 2027
Foden is not having his best season but is another who City should be building their next team around. His current deal expires in two years, so more talks about a renewal should be expected in the coming months.
Matheus Nunes
Age: 26
Contract expires: 2028
Just as it seemed Nunes’ second season at City might be picking up, with some promising performances on the left wing in November and hope that he might play through the middle given the struggles of his competitors for a place there, he has not featured, due to injury, since an error-strewn display in the Manchester derby last month. There will still be opportunities to make an impact in the coming weeks, and both parties need it to work out because losing, and replacing, another player in the summer might not be an easy task.
Kalvin Phillips
Age: 29
Contract expires: 2028
Phillips is unlikely to feature in City’s attempts to rebuild the squad after being unable to convince Guardiola during his first 18 months at the club. He went on loan to West Ham last January, then was borrowed by Ipswich in the summer and, whether permanently or via another loan, his future lies away from the Etihad.
Bernardo Silva
Age: 30
Contract expires: 2026
Bernardo has certainly not shown his best form this season but losing him at the same time as Gundogan, De Bruyne and Walker — if they are all to leave in the summer — would be a huge brain drain as much as anything else. Also, at just 30 years old, he is not at the same stage of his career as those three and presumably has a lot more to offer City in happier times. That said, Bernardo himself has been keen on a move in each of the past three years, so it might be a situation that needs addressing, even if he would be a great figure to link the old generation to the new.
James McAtee
Age: 22
Contract expires: 2026
One of the really puzzling elements of the past couple of months is why McAtee has not played more, not just because of poor performances from City’s other midfielders but because he has Premier League experience under his belt. He did well coming off the bench against Leicester just after Christmas but had to make do with 10 minutes at the end of the victory over West Ham last weekend, a game where Gundogan and Walker were brought on at 4-0 up, 20 minutes earlier. Guardiola has praised McAtee’s attitude in the circumstances but it would be no surprise if he wanted to show what he can do elsewhere if the situation does not evolve quickly.
McAtee has found minutes hard to come by — even during a period of crisis (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Jeremy Doku
Age: 22
Contract expires: 2028
Doku has frequent fitness issues that prevent him getting a consistent run in the side but, as a recent arrival and at just 22 years old, not to mention the promise he offers from the wing, he is likely to be one of the players to lead City forward.
Savinho
Age: 20
Contract expires: 2029
Savinho was only signed in the summer and, while Guardiola understandably says there is a lot to improve, has shown flashes, particularly recently, of what he can offer. Given his debut season has seen him thrust into a team playing nowhere near their best, the Brazilian can be forgiven for any struggles and will be another expected to carry the torch in future years.
Erling Haaland
Age: 24
Contract expires: 2027
Talk of him signing a new contract has rumbled on for about 18 months now and, considering his current deal runs out in two years, there will be some hurry to get that finalised from City. Haaland has not been able to keep up the ferocious goalscoring exploits of his debut season but, even in a fairly low-key 2023-24 and one with plenty of struggles this time, he still outscores everybody else. There has always been a fear that Real Madrid will look to sign him, but the European champions currently look more likely to strengthen other areas of their team.
Oscar Bobb
Age: 21
Contract expires: 2029
Bobb could really add a spark to the team when he returns from injury in the next month or so, having fractured an ankle in pre-season. The Norwegian had been City’s standout player on that U.S. tour and was expected to play a major role for Guardiola on the right wing. He signed a new deal last February that keeps him at City for another four years.
Jack Grealish
Age: 29
Contract expires: 2027
Guardiola’s comments at the weekend, in which he made it clear that Grealish was not considered ready to compete, let alone play at his best, threw his City future into more doubt. He struggled last season and was expected to come back stronger, but that has not happened. With two years remaining on his deal, this is normally the time to decide to either renew terms or move on, and right now it’s hard to make any case for a new contract, or even another season to see if he can get back to his best.
(Top photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
