Transfers, tactics and £34m selection call

Transfers, tactics and £34m selection call - Man City to-do list as pre-season begins

Manchester City players report back to the CFA today for a three-week pre-season ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Pep Guardiola has three weeks to get City ready for the new season

Manchester City’s players return to the City Football Academy today, beginning a three-week pre-season ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign.

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An unprecedented summer for the Blues will enter its second phase. The squad was given four weeks off after their surprise last-16 exit to Al Hilal at the Club World Cup.

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Now they will seek to return to peak fitness in time for the trip to Molineux on Saturday, August 16, for their opening weekend clash with Wolves.

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It’s already been a busy summer for Pep Guardiola and his squad, and although this is a shortened pre-season, there is still plenty to do in the next three weeks.

Here are some of the issues that will be dominating the thoughts of Guardiola and his staff, as well as director of football Hugo Viana, before the season gets underway.

Sell players

It will be a busy morning at the CFA today as City’s larger-than-usual squad checks in for pre-season training. Eight new arrivals this year and a reduced number of departures have left Guardiola with a group he is keen to cull.

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The role Jack Grealish plays in training will be fascinating as he continues to work on a move away from the Etihad. Kalvin Phillips is in a similar position but is still injured and James McAtee’s return is likely to be delayed after the Under-21 European Championship.

Other players will need to be moved on. Vitor Reis, Sverre Nypan, and Claudio Echeverri are expected to train today, but the teenage trio could all leave on loan. More senior sales are expected, and Guardiola will be keen to get numbers down.

Make goalkeeper call

City are likely to have four first-team goalkeepers when they return to pre-season training today, but the expectation is that Stefan Ortega will move on in the next couple of weeks.

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That is after City agreed a £27million fee to bring James Trafford back to the Etihad. The 22-year-old will replace Ortega and will be expected to lay down a challenge to Ederson in what is likely to be the Brazilian's final season at the club.

Those who know Trafford well insist he has the talent and the belief to do just that. He left the club two years without making a first-team appearance but is now deemed ready and if he can prove it then it presents City with an ideal succession plan.

Ederson will probably start the season in goal but performances in training in the next three weeks could change that.

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Rodri’s fitness

Rodri is expected back at the CFA this week after limping out of that defeat to Al Hilal. His substitution looked like a precaution, but he will be assessed on his return to see if he is ready to take a full part in training.

Even if he is, City’s medical staff must decide where the 29-year-old is as he seeks a return to full fitness after a serious knee injury. He was making good progress on that in the United States, but he will have work to do again to reach match fitness.

The race against time is to see whether the Ballon d’Or winner will be fit enough to start the season in the team. If he’s not, Mateo Kovacic is also currently sidelined, so Guardiola could turn to new signing Tijjani Reijnders.

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Right-back call

Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Rayan Ait-Nouri looked nailed-on starters as three members of the back four, but there are question marks at right-back as the Blues move on from the eight-year Kyle Walker era.

There is not expected to be a new arrival this window, which leaves Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes to fight it out to start in that role. Lewis has the greater potential, but Nunes ended last season positively and was praised by Guardiola in April as a right-back.

Neither is a perfect solution right now, and it will be fascinating to see what decision Guardiola makes when the competitive action begins.

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Foden and Cherki decisions

Right-back isn’t the only selection decision facing Guardiola, but the attacking positions are likely to see rotation anyway.

Perhaps the most interesting question will be whether Phil Foden or £34million addition Rayan Cherki is in the team. Both were on the bench against Al Hilal.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho emerged as the first-choice wingers in the United States, with Bernardo Silva as the most advanced midfielder. That left Foden and Cherki kicking their heels on the bench.

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They are both too good for that to become a regular occurrence, and you would expect at least one, if not both, of them to be in the team at the start of the season.

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