UEFA ruling may force Man City’s hand in Nico Gonzalez transfer decision

Manchester City must follow Premier League and UEFA standards when registering squads for the following season, and they face a challenge in the Champions League competition.

Pep Guardiola has made it clear that he wants to reduce the size of his Manchester City squad this summer. There are practical reasons for selling this window, as well as his desire to collaborate with a smaller number of players.

Kyle Walker joined Burnley last weekend, and Kalvin Phillips, James McAtee, and Jack Grealish could all follow the veteran right-back out the exit door. However, that only addresses one issue for City.

Selling four players reduces Guardiola’s squad size, but they are all considered homegrown according to Premier League and UEFA standards, posing a challenge for the Blues.

The UEFA rules are more rigorous. Eight of the 25-man squad must have trained in English football for three complete seasons between the ages of 15 and 21, with four of those eight spending those three seasons with City.

That essentially means that just 17 spots in the team may be filled by ‘foreign’ players, which is a problem for Guardiola because he already has 21 players who fit that description. Having freely expressed his dislike for leaving players out of a squad, having to inform four of them that they will not be participating in the Champions League would be a nightmarish scenario.

Two of the 21 players, adolescents Vitor Reis and Claudio Echeverri, may yet leave on loan, despite having encouraging performances during the Club World Cup. Brazilian centre-back Reis has stiff competition in defence, while Argentine Echeverri suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw early from the tournament.

That leaves 19 players, all of whom are regarded first-team options. It would be far from ideal to leave any of them out of a squad for eight Champions League games.

After removing Reis and Echeverri, the remaining players are Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Ruben Dias, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Doku, Nico Gonzalez, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Savinho, Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, and Erling Haaland.

There aren’t two players on that list that Guardiola would be comfortable leaving out, therefore additional exits are probable. While Gundogan is rumored to be on his way out, the possibility of City selling Gonzalez after only six months at the club remains.

Even if the Spaniard isn’t at the top of the list of prospective sales, he’s no longer first choice, and with competition for midfield spots, it appears that at least one central midfielder must leave.

Gonzalez’s value has declined since Guardiola described him as a’mini Rodri’ in February, and the addition of Reijnders has pushed him lower down the pecking order. City paid £50 million to sign him from Porto, but he certainly maintains much of that value and is still only 23.

On the surface, selling him now may appear to be City admitting they made a mistake, but needs must this summer, and if the demand is there, it may still be a deal worth considering.