‘Jack Grealish to lead Man City exodus as seven-man overhaul begins’
Jack Grealish is likely to be the first Man City player out of the door as part of a major overhaul of Pep Guardiola’s squad this summer.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that City could are eyeing replacements for up to seven key players.
Alongside Grealish and Kevin de Bruyne, they are preparing to replace Kyle Walker and are concerned about Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones long-term.
Brown first told Football Insider in February that Man City want to make five new signings to replace the ageing, inconsistent and injury prone players in their squad.
The January transfer window saw £180million spent on the additions of Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez.
Now, they are prepared for another busy window after former City financial advisor Stefan Borson told Football Insider that City are gearing up for a mass exodus.
Man City stars to follow Jack Grealish away from the Etihad
Brown told Football Insider on 30 May that Man City will accept loan offers for Grealish this summer, although they would prefer to sell him permanently.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that more senior stars could follow the England international out of the exit door.
“They’ve got question marks about a lot of players there,” he told Football Insider.
“Jack Grealish looks likely to leave because he’s not playing, he’s dropped out of the England squad and he wants to be playing regularly.
“That’s going to be difficult, because it’s hard to say who’s going to be able to afford him.
“They’ve got the Rodri situation, there’s no guarantee he comes back as the same player.
“John Stones’ injury issues are a problem so they’ll see if they can move him on.
“The right-back who’s been on loan at Milan isn’t going to come back into their plans.
“There have been questions about whether Gundogan is still at the level they need since he came back from Barcelona last year.
“And then Bernardo Silva as well, there’s always talk about whether he could go to Spain.
“Obviously De Bruyne is leaving so they’re making plans to replace him.
“So they’ve got some problems at City and they’re going to have to let some of these players go while bringing in others to replace them.
“It’s something they have to get right because they need to strengthen, it’s been a really poor season and they’re desperate not to repeat that.”
Morgan Gibbs-White latest after swap deal mooted
As part of the potential squad overhaul, City have identified a number of players who they will target when the window opens, including Morgan Gibbs-White.
Football Insider revealed on 31 May that City could let Grealish or James McAtee go as part of a swap deal to lure Gibbs-White away from Nottingham Forest.
Sources say Forest want at least double the £42.5million they paid Wolves for his signature in 2022, but could be tempted to accept a swap.
This comes after Football Insider revealed on 29 April that McAtee is considering quitting Man City for Forest in an attempt to kickstart his career with more regular football.
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