Hugo Viana, Manchester City's new sporting director who joined from Sporting CP nearly four months ago after Txiki Begiristain's departure, continues to be assisted by Carlos Rafael Morson, CFG's director of football transactions, who has been helping lead negotiations with potential buyers this summer.
For City, finding a direct suitor for Kalvin Phillips has proven tough, given the combination of his transfer fee and wages. Jack Grealish and James McAtee are also expected to leave, but progress remains slow.
The fourth player likely to depart is goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. With James Trafford's arrival, City now have four first-team goalkeepers. The club hopes Ederson stays until his contract expires next year and is willing to sell Ortega, whose contract has one year left. Ortega is seeking regular game time to secure a spot in Germany's World Cup squad next summer.
Younger players may be loaned out, though plans are uncertain. 18-year-old Sverre Nypan, signed from Rosenborg for £12.5m, was set to go out on loan as part of his development, but a proposed loan move to Ajax has been scrapped.
Girona are interested in loaning Vitor Reis and Claudio Echeverri. Echeverri's situation is complex: City are considering keeping him in-house to learn from the manager and forwards like Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush.
Other players, including Bob and Nico O'Reilly, are expected to stay. McAtee, more established but mostly a substitute last season, has attracted interest from Nottingham Forest, who only want to pay £25m – short of Viana's valuation. Eintracht Frankfurt also pulled back due to the price.
City's defensive surplus has sparked speculation over potential exits, but John Stones, fully recovered from injury but unused in the Club World Cup, has no desire to leave with a year left on his contract. Aymeric Laporte and J Husaynov need to prove their worth. In midfield, with Rodri's recovery from ACL injury uncertain, backups Nico González, Mateo Kovačić and Reijnders could play crucial roles.
