Officials at Manchester City are tempted by the prospect of a late splurge in the ongoing summer transfer window, according to fresh claims.
City have undergone a significant revamp of their first-team squad this summer, with newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana orchestrating the arrival of six new signings and a series of notable departures from the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Scott Carson and James McAtee have all left the club, with Jack Grealish, Claudio Echeverri, Vitor Reis and Sverre Nypan joining Everton, Bayer Leverkusen, Girona and Middlesbrough respectively on loan for the 2025-26 season.
Manchester City have signed Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki to bolster their midfield, with Rayan Ait-Nouri recruited for Wolves for £31 million to provide a solution to Guardiola’s long-lasting left-back problems.
Marcus Bettinelli was signed from Chelsea to replace the departed Carson as third-choice goalkeeper, with James Trafford returning to the Etihad Stadium for £27 million after two seasons at Burnley.
With less than a week to go in the summer transfer window, Stefan Ortega Moreno is expected to leave permanently amid negotiations between City and Galatasaray for Ederson and Manuel Akanji. The former is understood to be keen on a new challenge as he enters the final year of his current City deal, though Akanji prefers to stay at Manchester City.
Savinho has attracted interest from Tottenham and it remains to be seen whether the north Londoners can match Manchester City’s asking price for the 21-year-old winger, who is unsure of his prospects under Guardiola and is open to joining Tottenham 12 months on from moving to City from CFG-owned side Troyes.
Manchester City have reportedly lined up Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and Real Madrid’s Rodrygo as replacements for Ederson and Savinho respectively – and will advance for the pair in the event of a departure in what remains of the transfer window.
According to journalist Dean Jones writing for Flashscore, Manchester City have been contemplating a late splurge in the final days of the transfer window, with an emerging sense internally that the current squad may not be equipped to compete on all fronts.
It is stressed that while there is ‘no major panic inside’ the Etihad Stadium, the weekend’s 0-2 defeat to Tottenham ‘served as a moment of reflection’, underlining a concern that the early overhaul of the squad may not have gone far enough to address key areas of vulnerability.
Having stepped up talks with Paris Saint-Germain for Gianluigi Donnarumma, other areas of the squad – particularly in attack – are also under review in case of late opportunities, according to the report.
City’s frailties across the pitch were exposed by Tottenham at the weekend and served as a timely reminder that there is some way to go before Guardiola’s newlook squad can serve as title challengers to Liverpool and Arsenal.