The Cityzens have outspent every Premier League team in 2025 so far but there is still plenty of work to do before the season starts
While most Premier League clubs are running their players into the ground to get back in shape for the new season, Manchester City's squad are still on their holidays. Erling Haaland and Co. are trying to make the most of their time off after the Club World Cup before reporting for a delayed pre-season training campaign on July 28.
However, Pep Guardiola and new sporting director Hugo Viana cannot afford to rest as they continue work on assembling the best squad possible for next term.
The Cityzens made a frantic start to their transfer business in June, bringing in no fewer than five players before the Club World Cup at a cost of £111 million ($148m). The club were picking up where they left off in January, where they went on an unprecedented spending spree in the winter window, splashing £180m ($241m) on four new arrivals.
But despite a total spend north of £290m ($390m) in 2025 so far, City's embarrassingly early exit from the Club World Cup to Al-Hilal demonstrated that there are still plenty of areas in the squad to address if they want to reclaim their Premier League crown.
Here are six things Guardiola and Viana need to do before City begin their season away to Wolves on August 16…
Getty Images SportGet a top class right-back
The signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri signalled an end towards Guardiola's era of inverted full-backs and a move back towards a traditional back four with two wide men bombing forward. And the coach needs to complete that transition by signing a top-class right back to complement the Algeria international. Tino Livramento is the ideal target, although Newcastle seem unwilling to sell the England international this summer. City were also heavily linked with Flamengo's Wesley but the Brazilian looks set to join Roma.
City had three right-backs last season and none of them truly convinced in the role. Kyle Walker's performances declined so sharply that he sought a quick exit on loan to AC Milan and he has since completed a permanent move to Burnley. Rico Lewis, who was supposed to be Walker's heir, struggled playing the position regularly and his best performances – such as in the FA Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest – came in midfield.
Matheus Nunes took his time to adapt to the role after Guardiola deemed him not intelligent enough to be a midfielder and although he had his moments and notched 10 assists, he was found out against the biggest opponents.
AdvertisementGetty Clarify Ederson's future
The situation of City's two goalkeepers is the elephant in the room. Both Ederson and Stefan Ortega performed badly last season and are both entering the last year of their contracts. Many supporters believe the time has come for City to sign a successor to Ederson, especially after a poor Club World Cup in which he gifted Juventus a goal with a misplaced pass and conceded four times in the last-16 defeat by Al-Hilal.
City have been looking at potential new goalkeepers, in addition to signing Marcus Bettinelli to replace Scott Carson as third-choice, but the lack of offers for Ederson and Ortega makes it difficult for them to go into the market for a new No. 1. Although there have been reports of interest in Ederson from Turkey and Napoli, GOAL understands that City have not received any bids. And Ederson has slammed speculation that he is leaving as "fake news" and declared his intention to stay.
If City see Ederson as remaining as their No. 1 for the next couple of seasons, then they should give him a new contract. Right now, the uncertainty is not helping anyone.
Getty ImagesSell McAtee at the right price
It is an open secret that James McAtee will be leaving the club that he joined aged 11. With no fewer than seven players ahead of him in the pecking order in midfield and attack, he knows he must head elsewhere to kickstart his career.
From City's point of view his stock is high after captaining England to glory at the U21 Euros and his potential sale can be banked as 'pure profit' to keep the Premier League's profitability and sustainability enforcers at bay.
It is not a question of if McAtee will leave but instead it is which club he will go to and for how much. While reports have set his price at £25m ($34m), GOAL understands that City are hoping for a fee closer to £40m ($54m), which was the price Chelsea paid to sign Cole Palmer from City in 2023. McAtee has played more matches for City than Palmer at the time of his departure and also got an additional year of Premier League experience with Sheffield United.
McAtee is reported to have visited Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund, while Nottingham Forest have also expressed interest in him.
Getty Say goodbye to unreliable defenders
Late last season Guardiola dropped a big hint about which players he would be looking to move on. In fact he didn't even hint, he named names. Specifically Nathan Ake and John Stones. He did not question their form, but instead mentioned their struggles to stay fit. "Ake and Stones have been injured all season," the coach said in April. "You can't perform if you aren't reliable and cannot play every three days. We need to build a squad for next season."
Stones made 11 Premier League appearances last season, of which just six were starts. Ake played in 10 league games, starting eight. The Dutchman suffered five setbacks during the campaign, missing a combined 166 days. While Guardiola is grateful to both players for their contributions in the treble-winning season, his patience with their run of injuries has worn thin.
And as Guardiola looks to trim down his squad, Ake and Stones are unlikely to make the cut. City would not need to replace either player as they have three reliable centre-backs in Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji plus two defenders for the future in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.