Manchester City 2026 Transfer DealSheet: What are their priorities in this first post-Guardiola window?
Manchester City had been preparing for life after Pep Guardiola for some time, and that is certainly the case when it comes to transfers.
As The Athletic revealed at the end of May, new boss Enzo Maresca has already been in contact with director of football Hugo Viana about targets, and it is understood Maresca and Guardiola have been in contact about the current players, too.
This is a very important summer for City in terms of moving on from Guardiola and also Bernardo Silva, the influential midfielder who left on a free transfer. John Stones is also leaving, but has arguably been replaced already.
City have radically refreshed their squad since the start of 2025 but with even some of those newer players already looking to move on, this could be a bigger summer than anticipated.
The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.
Who will make key decisions this window?
Viana is the director of football and he will head up City’s recruitment and sales, having helped out in January 2025 before he officially arrived, and taken the reins fully last summer. He played a role in signing Vitor Reis last January, acted decisively by bringing in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki before the Club World Cup last summer, and brought in Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January.
He has made a positive start to life at City, then, certainly in terms of decisiveness.
What positions will they be looking at in the summer window?
A right-back, central midfielder and winger are priority areas but with several players potentially leaving, there could be other areas that need reinforcing, like in goal if James Trafford were to leave, for example, or there may be a need for two midfielders if others in that position move on.
What is the manager’s priority?
Transfers may not strictly be Maresca’s priority because he will be looking to get to grips with the entire squad and start to get his message across to existing players, too, as well as building on the kind of structures that have been in place from the Guardiola era.
Enzo Maresca is expected to be the next Manchester City manager (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
But working on the squad is obviously an important part of that process, ensuring there are no gaps and that unsettled players have been moved on. In that sense, replacing somebody of the importance of Bernardo would have to be considered a priority.
Are there any specific players they are targeting?
Elliot Anderson is the main target in midfield, though they have been keeping tabs on other options, like Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali. City have been credited with an interest in Enzo Fernandez though they say that is not a deal they are actively looking to do.
Who will they be looking to sell?
Nico Gonzalez is one player who could be moving on this summer after struggling to break into the team since he joined in January 2025, even if that was on Guardiola’s watch. Tijani Reijnders has only had one season at City and started well enough, but could not get into the side after Christmas and there is uncertainty about him, too.
Nathan Ake is also expected to leave. Bayern hold some interest in Josko Gvardiol.
The expectation throughout the season has been that Trafford will move on, after he was devastated by City’s decision to bring in Gianluigi Donnarumma after the Englishman had returned to the club in July, but it remains to be seen whether Maresca’s arrival changes the situation.
Savinho and Omar Marmoush are others who could attract interest, too.
Nico Gonzalez had less of an influence as the season went on (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Will anyone be earmarked for a loan away?
With Reis expected to return from his loan at Girona, it could be that Max Alleyne is loaned out after his time at Watford was cut short in January to help City cope with an injury crisis at the back. Alleyne did very well initially but his inexperience was highlighted in appearances against Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt and City subsequently signed Guehi, meaning his opportunities were limited. City rate him highly and have been considering keeping him around the first team, but it could be that more regular football on loan proves to be the best option.
What moves have they made already?
City are yet to finalise any new deals but there is potential for things to be put in place before the World Cup, partly to keep a lid on price tags and partly to offer some certainty to Maresca, even if he will have to plan for a pre-season tour to the Far East that is unlikely to feature most of his senior players.
One example of getting a deal done very early is that of Guehi, who signed in January and effectively replaced Stones six months ahead of time.
What sort of budget do they have and what is their SCR position?
On the one hand, City’s squad is largely set after the rebuild that took place over the past three transfer windows, but several players are looking to move on and that would mean the club have to do more business than they were expecting. As long as they get good money for players like Gonzalez and, say, Savinho, they would be able to simply reinvest that money on their replacements.
City’s financial situation is always considered very healthy, of course, and their spending across the past few windows had been supported by years of making money from academy prospects and relatively low outlays. City are certainly not in a bad position this time around in regard to squad cost rules and will be able to pursue their main areas of concern even if players have left without a fee, like Stones and Bernardo, but beyond that it would be a case of reinvesting.