Report: Manchester City to stage fire sale of last season's loanees
Manchester City is placing every senior player that was loaned out last season on the transfer list, sources told ESPN FC.
Rather predictably, Joe Hart will be dangled in front of potential suitors this summer. The goalkeeper lost his No. 1 berth soon after the arrival of Pep Guardiola as manager a year ago, and subsequently developed an unwanted reputation for making gaffes during a temporary stint with Torino in Serie A.
The respective jaunts of Samir Nasri at Sevilla, Eliaquim Mangala at Valencia, and Wilfried Bony at Stoke City also did little to merit a second chance under Guardiola.
Not only has Hart failed to curry favour in Guardiola's revolution, he's been further shunted out of the picture by the £34.9-million signing of Ederson Moraes from Benfica. The Brazilian, 23, is the quintessential sweeper-keeper and a blossoming instigator of attacks from the back - something which is seldom said about Hart.
Nasri has also become redundant by the purchase of Bernardo Silva from Monaco for £43.6 million. He was pivotal at times when linking the attack and midfield for Jorge Sampaoli's Sevilla, but the manager's decision to leave in order to assume the national team post with his native Argentina lessens Nasri's chances of staying in Andalusia.
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Mangala and Bony would immediately appear to cover issues at City. The centre-half position was a problem for Guardiola last season as he toyed with various combinations and tried natural left-back Aleksandar Kolarov in the heart of a back-four. But Mangala, a £31.8-million signing from FC Porto in 2014, has been disastrous in English football, and accumulated plenty of yellow cards at Valencia in 2016-17.
Bony was similarly abject for Stoke, making 10 league appearances and scoring two goals. Following an ineffectual introduction from the bench against Liverpool on Dec. 27, the 28-year-old striker then went unused for the remainder of the campaign.
Other players outside of this quartet will also be leaving the club permanently, as Guardiola makes wholesale changes to his squad. Fabian Delph's April renaissance was short-lived, so he, along with Nolito, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Fernando, will be made available for transfer (rather than loan) in the run-up to the 2017-18 season.