Manchester City head into the summer window without Bernardo Silva, without a confirmed successor to Pep Guardiola on the training pitch, and with the future of Rodri in question. The Manchester Evening News, writing on 12 June, put midfield at the top of the club’s to-do list.
Domestic clubs could start signing players for 2026/27 on Monday, 15 June. The paper expected a slower start than last year, partly because the World Cup is under way and partly because Enzo Maresca had yet to be appointed as Guardiola’s successor, which complicates any deal.
Anderson first in line
Elliot Anderson, the 23-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder, was named as City’s top target to replace Bernardo. The price is the problem. Forest reporter Sarah Clapson told the paper that £100m is the starting point for any deal, with Declan Rice’s fee as the benchmark Forest are using. The Manchester Evening News argued that landing him would show City still mean business at a moment when rivals may think the Guardiola exit gives them an opening.
Rodri and the others
Rodri, 29, spoke to Spanish media in the United States on the eve of the piece and sounded firm. He said he had not given his future a moment’s thought, and repeated that he has one year left on his City contract. The paper urged caution. City fans remember Guardiola saying the same about his own final year before he left. Even so, a one-year extension of Rodri’s stay would delay a major replacement job and give City a year to prepare for life without him.
Nico Gonzalez was signed with that succession in mind, but Guardiola left him on the bench for much of the second half of last season. Whether Maresca sees him as the heir to Rodri is one of the new coach’s first decisions, according to the paper. If he does, Gonzalez has to play.
Kalvin Phillips has run out of road at the club after injuries and poor loan spells, and the paper said he could leave. Sheffield United, under Chris Wilder, are reported to be interested. He is 30.
Tijjani Reijnders, signed last summer for £46.3m, made just five Premier League appearances after a difficult FA Cup tie against Salford. One of those came when Guardiola fielded a second XI against Aston Villa on the final day. The Dutchman is a trusted starter for Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands at the World Cup, which gives him a chance to put his City career back on track and challenge for Bernardo’s old spot.
