Pep Guardiola faces tough calls this week to force Man City transfer stance

Pep Guardiola faces tough calls this week to force Man City transfer stance

Manchester City have allowed a big squad to get bigger but a trip to Italy could put an end to some of the smiles in the group

Manchester City have some big decisions to make

It was all smiles at the City Football Academy last week as Manchester City returned to training. The players have had a healthy four weeks off following the Club World Cup and are eager to start righting the wrongs of the last nine months.

Included in the group have been Jack Grealish and James McAtee, back in the fold after not travelling to the United States in June with their future lying away from the Etihad. With interested parties knowing City are looking for a deal, they are willing to wait for a better deal and the Blues are not going to ostracise any players who have not been - and may not be - sold.

There has also been Vitor Reis, Claudio Echeverri and Sverre Nypan, young talents who are expected to go on loan for the campaign but have not yet sorted them; a deal for Reis to Girona is the most advanced of the three. And with James Trafford signing, he has become the fourth goalkeeper in first team training given Stefan Ortega has not sorted an exit.

Pep Guardiola said he could not cope with a squad as big as it was for the Club World Cup, yet somehow the number has increased. Surely things cannot go on like this.

An opportunity to draw a line through certain names comes this week, with City travelling to Palermo for their final pre-season friendly.

The club are expected to hold press conferences with Guardiola before and after the game, so the manager will be able to give updates on the state of the squad. He can also do that from the moment City take to the skies though with the power in his hands not to take all of the group.

It will be tough on anyone who does not get onto the pitch in Palermo, but City could even go one further and adopt their tough Club World Cup stance: if you aren't part of the plans for the season, you're not getting on the plane. That would apply to Grealish and McAtee but also some of the players earmarked for loans or even a shock omission.

It would be less confrontational to take everyone, but if you are taking 30 players then unless the game turns to farce most wouldn't be getting on the pitch anyway. It is a week before they play Wolves, so it is the time for honing and fine-tuning rather than wild experimentation or pleasing people.

There is still much work to be done in the transfer window to trim down a squad that currently has significantly too many bodies in it. Hugo Viana is working on it, but the travelling squad for Palermo could given an indication of what is to come.

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