Manchester City look to offload flops as end of transfer window looms

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that his club would not be recruiting any more players in the summer transfer window. Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo joined from Barcelona this week and, if the boss is good to his word, he will be the last new player to arrive at the Etihad Stadium in August.

However, the Blues are still looking to shift some players out, though none of them seem very straightforward. In terms of departures, the primary concern at the moment is clearly bringing a satisfactory conclusion to the Joe Hart situation. Well, as satisfactory as is possible anyway. England’s Number One will be leaving City sooner rather than later, given that the manager has made it very clear the shot-stopper is not part of his plans. It seems odd that a goalkeeper of such calibre is in a position where a move to another club is not assured; regardless of the problems he has with distribution, he remains one of the best ‘keepers in the world. The latest rumour is that he could move to Sunderland and City would be willing to subsidise his wages to the tune of £90,000 to make it happen.

Such a move would be a shame, but if it’s the only route he can take to avoid spending a season being rotated between the bench and the stands then it’s worthwhile. It would be somewhat demeaning to move a man who excels on Champions League nights to a relegation battle, but surely less demeaning than the alternative. Hart’s exit is inevitable, the only element in question is the timing.

He’s not the only big name heading for the exit door. Samir Nasri is quite clearly not part of Guardiola’s immediate plans; the Spaniard is widely reported to have been unimpressed with the midfielder’s fitness levels when he showed up for pre-season. Turkish Süper Lig side Besiktas appear to be heading the queue to acquire the Frenchman’s services and Nasri looks set to complete a season-spanning loan move. His fall from grace is nearly complete; the man dubbed ‘The new Zidane’ as a teenager is set to become just another footballer that failed to live up to his potential. His ball retention and technical ability should make him perfect for Guardiola’s City revolution; instead he’s not going to get to kick a ball for the club again. He’s rarely lived up to his billing – so much so that City don’t even appear to be able to find a permanent suitor and instead have to flirt him off temporarily to a league that he should be too good for.

One player who might, somehow, have done enough to warrant a move to a Premier League club is Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony. The £28m recruit from Swansea has been a disaster since his move in January 2015 yet Slavan Bilić has admitted an interest in taking him to West Ham. Once again, a loan deal could be on the cards. It beggars belief that City so often fail to make their money back on their signings; this is thrown into sharp contrast when you consider that Liverpool have just managed to offload Christian Benteke for around £30m, meaning that despite being a flop for the Anfield club, they’ve as good as made their money back. City will almost certainly not get close to recouping their outlay for Bony despite his impressive Premier League exploits at Swansea City. Such dealings can only be seen as a failure by those in charge of negotiating transfers.

Eliaquim Mangala is also likely to leave; even the most casual observer can see that he will not fit into Guardiola’s system. The defender appears to have slipped behind Nicolás Otamendi in the pecking order, as well youngster Tosin Adarabioyo. He has been linked with AC Milan and Napoli. Obviously, the talk is of a loan move, making him yet another expensive flop that City will struggle to shift and will surely take a significant loss on.

With so many futures unresolved, the closing few days of the transfer window are set to be busy for Txiki Begiristain as Guardiola’s squad is moulded to his liking. Loan moves will not be ideal and the volume of expensive players leaving will once again highlight how poor City’s transfer dealings have been in recent years. However, this window has been so good that we can safely say those days will soon be behind the club.