Man City transfer state of play after Elliot Anderson agreement: Jack Grealish, Ayyoub Bouaddi and more
Manchester City have already agreed their biggest deal of the transfer window but there is still major work to be completed this summer. As Elliot Anderson becomes a club record signing at £116million, it remains unclear what midfield he will walk into when the Premier League kicks off in late August.
Bernardo Silva has departed on a free transfer and there are currently doubts over four midfielders in the squad: Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders, Rodri and Mateo Kovacic – the latter two coming into the final year of their contracts. It remains unclear how many of those players incoming boss Enzo Maresca will keep (or be able to), and that will inform how active City are in the market.
Given how up in the air multiple situations are, City hold interest in several midfield players that they are ready to move for in the right circumstances. Those include but are not restricted to Sandro Tonali, who Tottenham also want, and Moroccan teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi.
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City are also looking to sign a right-back this summer, although the last week has been telling for their stance. Marco Palestra was a player they liked but there was little appetite to challenge Chelsea at £45m and then even less to meet an asking price of £75m for Malo Gusto at Stamford Bridge.
Matheus Nunes has been backed as City’s first-choice right-back, so if a new player comes in for that role they will be competing for the shirt rather than taking it off the Portugal international. The price bracket will almost certainly reflect that.
Savinho and James Trafford are among the players with the likeliest exit routes, with Spurs in for the Brazilian winger and Trafford likely to have several options after the World Cup. City will have to sign replacements if either go, and so are monitoring both positions in the market.
Ruben Dias and Omar Marmoush have also received interest from other clubs, while Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips will both look to be offloaded by City again. Vitor Reis is hoping to return to the squad in Manchester after a successful loan at Girona, and loans are expected for Claudio Echeverri and Sverre Nypan.
Midfield remains the priority for Viana even if much of that effort may end up being on players who are already at the club. City were keen to make Anderson a statement signing but want to back that up to get the Maresca era off to a strong start.
The World Cup has delayed business but the pace of the window is expected to speed up from the middle of July, when teams are returning for pre-season. City were active until the final day last summer and are prepared to go late again as they wait on a number of active situations.
