8 players who could transfer to Man City this summer

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 7 Apr 2022 07:52 CDT
• 5 min read

Manchester City are usually among the biggest spending clubs each summer due to their massive riches.

In the summer of 2021, they broke the British transfer record to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million.

They also tried and failed to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham, after seeing four approaches rejected for the England international.

City are still in contention for the Premier League and Champions League, but no matter their success in 2021/22, Pep Guardiola, as always, will be keen to improve the squad in any way possible.

Here, we look at each section within the Man City squad and determine who could arrive in the next transfer window.

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What goalkeepers could transfer to Man City this summer?

Man City are well-stocked in the goalkeeper department. Ederson remains one of the best stoppers in the world, while Zack Steffen is a trusted deputy.

What defenders could transfer to Man City this summer?

Pau Torres

Pau Torres was a wanted man this summer, with Man City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Real Madrid strongly linked.

Spurs reportedly bid €60m.

He didn't welcome any advances, though, stating his wish to play in the Champions League with hometown club Villarreal.

“The pull of playing the Champions League with the team from my town was bigger [than moving to Tottenham]," he told the Guardian.

“I was clear from the start. This is only the fourth time Villarreal reached the Champions League, which shows how hard it is and it was a dream to play the competition with my lifelong club.

Now that the dream of playing in the Champions League with Villarreal has been achieved, he may be more open to a move.

Sergio Gomez

Sergio Gomez has developed into a fine left-back at Anderlecht despite spending the majority of his career beforehand as an attacking midfielder. He can also play on the right.

The Spaniard is a product of Barcelona's La Masia academy and so possesses a natural command over the ball as well as great passing ability, which is certainly a required talent for playing in a Guardiola side.

Crucially, he is equally adept at playing at right-back as well as left-back in the mould of Joao Cancelo which would give Guardiola another fluid option in these positions.

What midfielders could transfer to Man City this summer?

Aurelien Tchouameni

Aurelien Tchouameni's performances over the last 12 months have made everyone stand up and take notice.

As well as City, Man Utd, Liverpool and Real Madrid are all keeping tabs on the Frenchman.

City will be looking for a player in this position for the summer as a long-term replacement for Fernandinho.

Tchouameni is not a direct replacement as he is more box-to-box than the Brazilian, but with Rodri now the marshall of the backline, Tchouameni would could be unleashed further forward.

Christopher Nkunku

Christopher Nkunku was at his absolute best last weekend, as his RB Leipzig side tore apart Borussia Dortmund.

He has 27 goals and 17 assists in 40 games for RB Leipzig, ahead of a summer transfer window that will surely have a number of clubs fighting for his signature.

City are one of these teams, and although they already have plenty of playing in the attacking midfield positions, Nkunku can play deeper in central midfield, in attacking midfield and even on the wing.

What forwards could transfer to Man City this summer?

Harry Kane

Reports over the summer suggested that City had bid as much as £150 million for Harry Kane, only for Tottenham to continually reject their advances.

Guardiola has revealed that City made four bids in total for Kane, and that he wasn't sure how his team would perform without the England international arriving from Spurs.

"Now you can say, 'Harry Kane didn’t come and everything is going well' but at the time I didn’t know it," the City boss said ahead of City versus Tottenham in February.

"We tried but Tottenham were clear that it was not going to happen.

"When that happens two, three, four times, it’s over."

The club do need a new striker, though and it could be between Kane or the man next on our list.

Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland is one of the hottest properties in world football following his performances for Dortmund over the last 18 months or so.

In the 2021/22 season alone in which he has suffered from injuries, he has scored 23 goals in 20 starts in all competitions.

He will be at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war, with every elite side in Europe linked with the player on at least one occasion.

Recent reports would suggest that Real Madrid and Man City are now leading the race for his signature.

He has rejected a colossal contract offer worth €28 million per season from City already, according to Diario Sport, but that doesn't mean City won't go back in with more on the table.

Matheus Franca

South America and Brazil in particular is never short of young wonderkids who are dubbed as 'the next big thing'.

The next in a long line of potential superstars to hold that status is Flamengo midfielder Matheus Franca.

He is a product of the academy at Flamengo and made his Serie A debut for the first team in December of 2021 against Santos.

Franca only has a few league appearances to his name so far but has impressed at youth level as well as at international level with the youth ranks of Brazil.

The club most recently linked with Franca is Manchester City. According to Brazilian outlet BolaVip, the Premier League giants are preparing to offer Flamengo a "truckload" of cash in order to sign the talented midfielder

Rafael Leao

Rafael Leao has exploded in 2021-22 as one of the most exciting and electrifying young talents in Serie A.

Rafael Leao has long been tipped for big things and was labelled as the ‘Portuguese Mbappe’ when AC Milan paid €23 million to sign him from Lille as a 20-year-old in 2019.

This season he has 11 goals and six assists in all competitions.

Guardiola would be a fan of his ability to play both through the middle and on the wing.