The five Man City players who could leave in January
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 3 Jan 2022 08:03 CST
- 4 min read
Manchester City are fighting on a several fronts this season, and already seem destined to defend their Premier League title, while a serious assault on the Champions League seems extremely likely.
Pep Guardiola has a star-studded squad at his disposal, but with so many elite players around it can be tough to keep everyone happy. So far this season, he's managed to do that with plenty of rotation, but a few stars have made noises about leaving, while there are also some younger players who could benefit from receiving first-team football to aid their development.
Ferran Torres has already left the club this month, with the Spanish forward joining Barcelona in an initial deal worth €55 million (£46.7m).
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That represents an impressive profit for Guardiola's side, who signed Torres for €23m (£20.8m) just 18 months ago.
The forward was never first choice at The Etihad, and jumped at the chance to return to his homeland.
The move was completed before the window even opened, and Torres has already been unveiled as a Barcelona player, but he hasn't yet been registered with La Liga as the Blaugrana's financial woes mean they need to ship someone off the books before Torres can play.
With Torres' move already done, which other stars could join him in leaving Man City this month?
Raheem Sterling
Following the arrival of Jack Grealish in the summer, Raheem Sterling suddenly found himself down the pecking order at the Etihad.
In the first couple of months of the campaign, Sterling was often left on the bench and that led to the player himself conceding that he may try and seek a move away in January in order to play more games.
He indicated he would be willing to move abroad, and that seems more likely than finding a new club in the Premier League.
However, a transfer away for Sterling now doesn't seem on the cards as it may have earlier in the campaign because he's been reinstated into the team, and has since found form.
Liam Delap
Liam Delap, the son of former Sunderland and Stoke midfielder Rory Delap, has been making a name for himself at the Man City academy for the past few years, and has already been earmarked as a future Premier League star.
In September 2020, Delap made his first team debut against Bournemouth in the League Cup, and marked the occasion with his first senior goal.
Delap would make his Premier League debut three days later off the bench as Man City lost 5-2 at home to Leicester.
However, he's been hampered by injury at the start of the 2021/22, so it has been speculated that he could move to the Championship for six months in order to regain his fitness, and find regular first-team minutes.
Kayky
In April 2021, Man City announced the signing of Brazilian wonderkid Kayky, after beating a host of other European clubs for his signature.
He has been dubbed ‘the next Neymar’, with his close control and speed drawing inevitable comparisons with the PSG superstar.
Kayky is still just 18 so he could benefit from learning under Guardiola and the senior players at the club, but City could choose to utilise one of their City Football Group contacts and send him on loan to either Girona in Spain or Troyes in France.
Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer has managed to make a dent in the Man City first-team this year, and has already drawn plenty of comparisons with fellow academy graduate Phil Foden.
The England U21 international is a left-footed attacker who can operate across the forward line, much like his compatriot Foden.
The winger has 10 appearances in total across all competitions, and even has a Champions League goal, and a League Cup goal, to his name.
Like with Foden, it seems Guardiola wants him to stay around the first-team environment rather than sending him out on loan, but the City boss has said Palmer is ready for the Premier League, so there's a chance a team in the bottom half of the table could use his services on a temporary basis
