There are many layers to peel back during the transfer window for Manchester City | OneFootball

There are many interesting layers to peel back during the summer transfer window for Manchester City. Obviously, who arrives at the Etihad is one such layer. There is also the topic of who leaves City, which will be fascinating to watch unfold. Based on how Manchester City’s 24/25 season unfolded a host of players will likely depart the club. There is another interesting story to monitor across the summer transfer window for Manchester City. That is the homegrown player situation. It’s a topic that does warrant further investigation.

The homegrown rules explained in the Premier League and Champions League and how they shaped Manchester City’s squad for the 24/25 season.

As per the Premier League’s rules, each team’s squad can only have 17 players who aren’t counted as a homegrown player. To make up a full 25-man squad in the Premier League, if a team has 17 international players, they must have 8 homegrown players. That is as simple an explanation that can be given on the Premier League’s squad rules. The attached link contains the Premier League’s squad rules.

At the beginning of the 24/25 season, Manchester City had Scott Carson, Kyle Walker, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish, James McAtee and Phil Foden listed as homegrown players in their Premier League squad. Kyle Walker and Josh Wilson-Esbrand left the club during the January transfer window. That left 6 homegrown players in the Manchester City squad for the second half of the 24/25 season. As per a report from the Athletic, Manchester City only had 21 total players registered for the second half of the season. So the homegrown rules didn’t apply to City as they didn’t need to have 25 players registered to finish the previous campaign.

The UEFA Champions League squad rules are slightly different. 8 homegrown players are required to be registered in each club’s Champions League squad. For every homegrown slot that isn’t filled the affected club loses a squad place. For example, if a team only has 7 homegrown players, they can only choose a 24-man squad in the Champions League. If a club only has 6 homegrown players the squad size decreases to 23. For the second half of their 24/25 Champions League campaign, Manchester City had 6 homegrown players and a squad size of 23. They could, however, call up locally trained players off their B list. This saw Nico O’Reilly and Rico Lewis feature in Manchester City’s Champions League campaign. That gave Pep Guardiola a full 25-man squad to use in Europe’s premier club competition.

Which homegrown players leave Manchester City could shape their summer transfer window.

With the homegrown rules established which homegrown players leave Manchester City could shape their summer transfer window. Scott Carson is currently out of contract. The futures of John Stones, Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish and James McAtee appear to be in doubt. For the sake of argument, if McAtee leaves Manchester City this summer as expected, Oscar Bobb can take his place as a homegrown player. Bobb is now classed as a homegrown player due to his age. He has also been trained at Manchester City since the age of 16. That sees him meet the requirements of a homegrown player for the Premier League and Champions League.

Where it gets interesting is if another homegrown player leaves Manchester City, they’d have to replace him. If Bobb replaced McAtee and Stones departs Manchester City, they’d need to sign another homegrown player. If Jack Grealish plus John Stones leaves Manchester City they’d need to sign two more homegrown players. That’s the interesting part of the scenario that Manchester City could face this summer.

Summary.

The homegrown situation could shape Manchester City’s summer transfer window. In terms of players, City is reportedly interested in Rayan Cherki, who could take Kevin De Bruyne’s squad place. Tijjani Reijnders could potentially replace one of Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic or Bernardo Silva if they leave for example. They’re classed as international players. Ederson of Atalanta could also replace one of those three players if they were to leave the Etihad. If James McAtee leaves City, Oscar Bobb steps into his homegrown spot. After that, if two homegrown players leave, two homegrown players will have to come into Manchester City’s squad. Perhaps that’s where City’s rumoured moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Tino Livramento come into play.

The homegrown situation is another interesting dynamic to watch unfold at Manchester City during the summer transfer window. It’s a crucial component of the squad make up in the Premier League and Champions League. So how City navigate that component of the summer is another story to watch for.