Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Sterling, Jesus & Fernandinho: What the future holds for some of Manchester City’s biggest stars this summer?

Embed from Getty Images

Eventually breezing past PSG thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win on Tuesday night, Manchester City reached their first Champions League Final and a meeting against Chelsea for May 29th out in Turkey.

While Pep Guardiola’s side might have seen The Blues end their FA Cup adventure at Wembley last month, they’re within striking distance of recapturing their Premier League crown and still have a silverware sweep at the top of their agenda.

Although Guardiola might be planning for a domestic meeting against Chelsea at the Etihad this weekend, there remains a string of speculation surrounding the future of some of City’s biggest stars this summer.

With it already confirmed that the iconic Sergio Aguero will be ending his decade-long stay in Manchester, we have taken a look at what could be in store for a handful of City stars come the end of the season.

Raheem Sterling

Watching Riyad Mahrez put in another Man of the Match display in midweek and bagging himself a famous brace at the Etihad, it was another night of watching on from the sidelines for Raheem Sterling.

Although the England ace might have bagged himself 31 goals across all competitions last season and many feeling he was becoming the complete package, it has been a year of regression for the one-time Liverpool starlet.

With the red-hot Phil Foden also enjoying a career-best campaign under Guardiola, Sterling has become a fringe player under the former Bayern Munich boss and has failed to find the net in his last 12 club appearances.

Managing to feature for just eight minutes over both of Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final two legs, he has also yet to put pen to paper on a new contract and some have speculated he could be open to a move this summer.

With clubs from across Europe put on red alert, Football Insider reported earlier in the week that both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are interested in a potential £70million swoop when the window reopens.

Gabriel Jesus

Although it might have been announced last month that Sergio Aguero will be leaving the Etihad when the 2020/21 campaign draws to a close, there remains plenty of speculation around Gabriel Jesus’ own future past the summer.

While the Brazilian was long thought to have been Aguero’s replacement in waiting, the 24-year-old has failed to fully reach his potential since making the move to Manchester back in 2017.

Despite it being reported that Guardiola remains a huge admirer of Jesus and does want the 41-cap international to extend his stay past the summer, it is no secret that City are on the lookout for another number nine.

With Guardiola often electing to deploy talisman Kevin De Bruyne as a false nine, the soon-to-be Premier League champions have been continuously linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.

Regarded as one of Europe’s hottest properties, the 20-year-old has recorded 37 goals in 38 matches in all competitions and City remain keen on striking a potential deal this summer.

Fernandinho

Celebrating his 36th birthday on Tuesday by helping Manchester City land that 2-0 win against PSG at the Etihad, Fernandinho once again showed just why he is regarded by many to be one of Guardiola’s greatest players.

Demonstrating his versatility by doing an impressive job as a makeshift central defender for large spells of last season, the Brazilian ace is out of contract at the end of next month and is undecided on what his future holds.

Soon to pick up his fourth Premier League title in what could be a matter of days, City do remain keen on extending his stay for another 12 months.

However, if Fernandinho is to finally sign off his glittering career at the Etihad this summer, The Times reported on Thursday that Guardiola’s side might have already lined up a potential replacement.

Playing a vital role in West Ham’s charge for a shock Champions League finish this season, England international Declan Rice is reportedly on Guardiola’s wishlist if they are to free up a midfield spot this summer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Dunstan


Formerly of The Independent, Tom has spent the past six years as one of our senior writers and betting experts. Alongside working with numerous publications from across the globe, Tom also graduated from the University of Falmouth in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Digital Media.
Spending almost the past decade working in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, he has also spent time featuring in sports radio. Tom can be followed on Instagram - @iamtomdunstan

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top