Five Man City stars ‘to leave’ in mass exodus as Fabrizio Romano denies Arsenal transfer claims

Man City boss Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva could part ways this summer

Manchester City could be forced to wave farewell to up to five of their big-name stars this summer in a clearout that could generate as much as £300m in transfer funds – but Fabrizio Romano has played down claims that one of those in Bernardo Silva could sign for Arsenal in a mega-money deal.

Pep Guardiola’s hopes of landing an historic double Treble with the Cityzens are over following their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid last week, with the Spanish giants going on to secure a last-four showdown with Arsenal conquerors Bayern Munich. And while that loss was a huge disappointment for Guardiola and Co, Manchester City can still secure a terrific double of Premier League and FA Cup success this season.

And while a three-way title race saw them slip to third over the weekend with Liverpool and Arsenal both taking advantage by winning their matches, City did manage to book their place in yet another FA Cup final – their third in six seasons – with a hard-fought win over Chelsea.

Nonetheless, their elimination from the Champions League at the last eight stage will be the one that hurts the most as their reign as European champions was brought to an abrupt halt by the 13-time winners following a penalty shootout.

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As a result, City are careful pondering the make-up of their squad for next season amid claims a number of unwanted stars could be moved on.

To that end, a report in Spain has named five players who are set to depart the Etihad in a bid to not just freshen up the squad, but also to generate some serious transfer funds.

Five players to leave Man City – with £100m Jack Grealish first

Per the report, there are ‘five Man City players thinking of moving on’ this summer – with £100m club-record signing Jack Grealish seemingly the first one on his way.

Injury-hit Grealish has been in and out of the City side this season, making a total of just nine starts in the Premier League and eight in the Champions League.

However, with just three goals and three assists to his name, the player has evidentally lost his way a little this season, with his declining form now seeing the winger being strongly linked with an exit.

To that end, it’s claimed Guardiola is open to the idea of offloading his summer 2021 signing with the money generated from his sale to be used towards the capture of a quality replacement.

And he will seemingly not be the last Cityzens star to move on, with the report in Spain also identyfing Stefan Ortega, Kalvin Phillips, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne as other stars who could also depart.

The sale of Phillips will certainly come as no surprise with the player a long way down the pecking order under Guardiola and farmed out on loan to West Ham over the second half of the season.

A return to Leeds – if promoted back to the Premier League – has been mooted, with City set to take a significant hit on their initial £42m purchase in summer 2022.

While the exit of Ortega would be felt – the German has impressed on the rare occasions he has been called upon – City would not be short of options to sign as a new No 2.

Bernardo Silva to Arsenal talk prompts Fabrizio Romano response

Of all the losses, though, it would potentially be those of either De Bruyne or Silva the most keenly felt. To that end, it would surely be highly unlikely that Guardiola would allow two of his most creative talents to depart in the same summer.

As far as De Bruyne is concerned, however, City do find themselves at something of a crossroads this summer with his deal at the Etihad due to expire in summer 2025 and with the Belgian playmaker the subject of strong transfer interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.

To that end, the Cityzens could easily command a fee well in excess of £100m for a player, who turns 33 this summer and for whom has suffered with his fair share of injuries this season.

There is also fresh speculation too that Bernardo Silva is also looking to move on this summer amid ongoing rumours of interest in him from both PSG – with a void to fill from Kylian Mbappe’s impending departure – and Barcelona.

In the last few days, though, there have been reports of a surprise move across the Premier League to Arsenal, with the rumours prompting a reaction from Romano.

The transfer guru, however, writing in his column for Caught Offside, has been quick to dismiss the speculation.

Romano wrote: “Arsenal did well when they signed both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City almost two years ago, and now there’s been speculation from some outlets about them trying again to raid City, this time for Bernardo Silva.

“Sorry to disappoint any Arsenal fans who had got their hopes up, but I have zero information on Arsenal and Bernardo so far, to be honest. The Portugal international’s release clause is there for £50m but obviously Man City don’t want Bernardo to stay in the Premier League and play for one of their rivals.”

Romano added: “My expectation for Bernardo, if he does leave City this summer, is to go abroad. As I reported recently, Barcelona’s interest has always been there, and we know from what Joao Felix said publicly that he’s spoken to Bernardo about the move.”

Silva has scored 67 goals and added 47 assists in 348 appearances for the club.

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