Jack Grealish might not be leaving Manchester City after all. The 30-year-old winger, who spent last season on loan at Everton, looked destined for a permanent exit this summer. Injuries disrupted his campaign on Merseyside, and the club's attacking depth suggested his time at the Etihad was up.

But things have changed.

TEAMtalk reports that new City boss Enzo Maresca wants to assess Grealish personally during pre-season before making a final call. Rather than pushing through a low-value sale, Maresca is prepared to give him a genuine shot at winning back his place.

Manager knows him well

Grealish is expected to return to City after recovering from the foot injury that ended his Everton loan spell early. Maresca knows him from his previous stint on Pep Guardiola's coaching staff, which adds weight to the idea that this is more than just a courtesy look.

Grealish's best form at City came when he was trusted in a structured system, particularly during the treble-winning 2022/23 campaign. Guardiola has since departed, Maresca has arrived, and the squad is being reshaped.

The question is whether Grealish still has the sharpness and confidence to contribute regularly.

What Grealish still offers

Maresca is right to pause before selling. Grealish's value is probably lower now than it was two years ago, so rushing him out would make little sense. A strong pre-season could change everything.

He may not be the quickest winger in the squad, but he brings control, ball retention and experience in big matches — the kind of calmness that can slow games down when City need to manage a lead. That still has value across a long season.

This has to be a real opportunity, though, not a polite farewell. If Maresca sees a clear role, Grealish should stay. If he is only going to sit on the bench, both parties should accept that a clean exit is best.

Jeremy Doku will be lining up against a familiar face in the World Cup quarter-finals after Belgium dismantled co-hosts United States in Seattle.

Charles De Ketelaere did most of the damage with a brace inside the opening half-hour, first tapping home a ninth-minute cross from Nicolas Raskin before nodding in his second just two minutes after the USA had briefly levelled through a heavily deflected Malik Tillman free-kick.

The American defence unravelled in the second half. Goalkeeper Matt Freese made a disastrous error that allowed Hans Vanaken to score from distance, and substitute Romelu Lukaku added a clinical tight-angle finish deep into stoppage time to round off a 4-1 win.

The result eliminates the last remaining co-host from the tournament following Mexico and Canada's exits earlier in the week. It also sets up a mouth-watering last-eight meeting between Belgium and Spain in Los Angeles on Friday.

Doku had a relatively quiet night by his standards — 27 minutes on the pitch, 20 touches, eight accurate passes and two successful dribbles — but he was fouled three times, suggesting the American defenders found him hard to handle even when he wasn't at his electric best.

City fans will now have to decide which side of the divide they fall on when Rodri's Spain take on Doku's Belgium later this week.

City will face Mansfield Town, Chesterfield and Port Vale in Northern Group D. The draw gives the academy side three senior opponents and a proper gauge of where they stand against experienced professionals.

A different kind of test

The competition again includes invited under-21 sides from elite academies alongside League One and League Two clubs, the EFL has confirmed. That structure exists to give development teams exposure to senior football rather than age-group peers.

For City, that changes the value of every minute played.

A possession-heavy academy side can look polished in Premier League 2. The EFL Trophy asks different questions: second balls, set-pieces, direct running and opponents who will not let the game stay tidy.

Mansfield confirmed City's Under-21s had joined the group, while Port Vale stated the group stage will begin in early September. The Round of 32 is scheduled for the week commencing 7 December.

Academy pathway under scrutiny

City are resetting the first-team picture under Enzo Maresca. At the same time, the academy pathway is facing a harder question. The issue is not only whether players can dominate youth football but whether they can handle senior tempo, physical pressure and difficult away environments.

The competition offers consequence, discomfort and resistance. For Maresca and the academy staff, Mansfield, Chesterfield and Port Vale should provide a clearer view of which players are ready for the next step.

Erling Haaland has made this World Cup something more than a personal goal spree for Manchester City. His late double against Brazil sent Norway into the quarter-finals for the first time, and now England stand between him and a semi-final spot. For Enzo Maresca, that means watching from both sides of the same problem.

Norway’s 2-1 win over Brazil was the headline. Haaland scored twice, taking his tournament tally to seven, and admitted afterwards he could not quite believe the run. City’s official match report confirmed the details: a first World Cup quarter-final for Norway, built around their main man.

England got there via a 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca, where Jude Bellingham scored twice and Harry Kane added a penalty. The England squad includes Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, Elliot Anderson and James Trafford — all City-linked players spread across defence, midfield and goalkeeping depth. Guehi, O’Reilly and Anderson started against Mexico; Trafford was on the bench.

This is not a pre-season friendly. It is a World Cup tie in Miami with a semi-final place at stake.

One group of City players will go out this weekend. Another will move deeper into the tournament. Maresca will welcome the quality of the experience. He will not welcome the shrinking recovery window.

Haaland’s role for Norway carries more than minutes. He is their main forward, Golden Boot contender and national reference point. The emotional load is real. England’s City group brings a different challenge: O’Reilly’s tournament has been a useful development step, Guehi’s defensive responsibility has grown, Anderson is still moving through a City transition while playing in England’s midfield, and Trafford remains part of the same international environment.

Maresca cannot treat every return the same way. City will need individual plans once the tournament ends for each player.

A Norway win sends Haaland deeper into history and brings England’s City group back earlier. An England win returns Haaland sooner but pushes several City players toward the final week. Either outcome helps one part of the squad and complicates another. That is why this tie matters beyond the result. City are watching form, resilience, fatigue and return dates all at once.

The wage bill is swollen. The leadership group is in transition. These twin pressures are shaping his first weeks at Manchester City.

It's the kind of off-pitch work that tends to go unnoticed until something goes wrong. Maresca will be hoping to get both sorted before the real business begins.

Mateo Kovacic has been told he can leave Manchester City this summer, according to reports. The Croatian midfielder has been deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad after a difficult, injury-hit campaign.

The 32-year-old joined City from Chelsea in June 2023 for an initial £25m and has made 97 appearances for the club. But only nine of those came in 2025-26, with an ankle problem sidelining him while City pushed to win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Football Insider reports that Kovacic is likely to depart before the transfer window closes.

Midfield reinforcements

City have already strengthened in midfield this summer with the club-record £116m arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Further incomings could follow, though Sandro Tonali — previously linked with a move to City — has joined Tottenham for £100m.

Kovacic did impress at the World Cup in 2026, one of the brighter performers as Croatia were narrowly eliminated by Portugal in Toronto.

Whether he features on City's Asia Tour — which takes up the first half of August ahead of the Community Shield against Arsenal — remains to be seen. The tour could offer an early indication of what new manager Enzo Maresca wants from his midfielders, and whether Kovacic fits those plans.

If he does move on, he will follow John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake out of the door this summer as director of football Hugo Viana reshapes the squad.

Divin Mubama is attracting serious Championship interest ahead of the new season, with Middlesbrough, Derby County and Preston North End all keen on taking the Manchester City striker on loan.

The 21-year-old joined City from West Ham for £2m back in 2024, signed as a long-term project rather than someone expected to hit the ground running at the Etihad. Last season he was sent to Stoke City for senior experience and made an encouraging start — five goals before a serious ankle ligament injury in January brought things to a grinding halt.

The injury, suffered in a challenge with QPR's Jimmy Dunne, was bad enough that Mubama initially feared he'd broken his leg. It cut short what had been shaping up as a genuinely productive loan spell.

He's recovered well and is understood to be fully fit ahead of the new campaign. That has quickly reignited interest from Championship clubs who saw what he could do before the setback.

According to the Daily Mail, Mubama has already held preliminary talks with Derby County over a potential loan move, though neither the player nor City have made a final decision yet. Middlesbrough and Preston have made formal approaches too, and the report suggests more clubs could enter the picture as word spreads about his availability and recovery.

Three established Championship clubs showing their hand this early in the window says plenty about the impression Mubama made before his injury. Five goals from limited appearances was enough to convince several sides he's a high-value loan option who could make a real difference in a promotion push.

City director of football Hugo Viana and new manager Enzo Maresca are currently reviewing the futures of a number of younger squad members as part of a wider look at the club's development pathways. Mubama's situation is one of several loan decisions to be sorted before the window closes.

A second Championship loan would be the logical next step in a development plan that was disrupted but not derailed by January's injury. A full, uninterrupted season at that level could accelerate his progression toward genuine first-team consideration under Maresca.

Derby's position as the club he's already spoken to puts them in pole position at this stage, but Middlesbrough and Preston don't appear willing to cede ground without making their own case. City's track record with young forwards on loan suggests they'll prioritise the right fit over a quick resolution — quality of project and guaranteed game time likely to weigh as heavily as league position in any final decision.

Whether the next update confirms a Derby deal or sees the picture shift as more clubs enter the race remains to be seen. But the breadth of interest in a player who spent much of the last six months on the sidelines speaks clearly to the potential City's recruitment team identified when sanctioning his signing from West Ham two summers ago.

Jack Wilshere has left the door ajar for Emilio Lawrence to return to Kenilworth Road next season, admitting there's a chance the Manchester City winger could be back at Luton on loan.

The 20-year-old joined the Hatters in January alongside Kasey Palmer, part of Wilshere's first batch of signings as Luton manager. Both made a decent impression over the second half of the campaign, though Lawrence's start was far from straightforward.

He spent time out of the starting XI while finding his feet in the Championship, but grew into the season as Wilshere's faith in him increased. That trajectory has left the Luton boss wanting more.

Speaking to The Lutonian, Wilshere made his feelings clear.

“Yeah, there is a chance. Ultimately, that would be down to him and Man City. I think he done really well. Sometimes then, players and clubs, the next step is obviously to go up a league.”

“However, I made my opinion clear to Emilio that that's not always necessarily the best step, and spending some more time with us, he knows us, we know him, can actually prepare him higher than he thinks he can.”

Wilshere argued the case for continuity, pointing to how much Lawrence developed in a short time.

“He grew so much, and I think when you have a player who develops that much, in a small amount of time, you want to get him back because you feel like you can make him better.”

The Luton manager also reflected on Lawrence's loan as a model for how these moves should work.

“I think that is a real benefit for a young player, going out on loan. Because, let's not forget, when he first came in, he played four games, and he was out the squad for four games. So, he's almost been through that initial period here.”

Any decision on a second loan won't be Wilshere's alone. It'll come down to Lawrence, his representatives, and City's hierarchy — with Hugo Viana conducting a full squad assessment ahead of Enzo Maresca's first season in charge.

Wilshere has already made his pitch directly to the player. Whether that's enough to keep Lawrence at Kenilworth Road rather than pushing him up a level remains to be seen as the summer window rolls on.

Manchester City's World Cup contingent keeps growing. Three of Enzo Maresca's squad members helped England scrape past Mexico in a chaotic 3-2 win that secured a quarter-final spot.

Jude Bellingham's quick double and a Harry Kane penalty got England over the line in Mexico City, after Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez had twice pulled the co-hosts level. The win was harder than the scoreline suggests.

Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly and Elliot Anderson all started for Thomas Tuchel. James Trafford was on the bench. All three outfield players picked up bookings in a game that also saw Jarell Quansah sent off in the 54th minute, leaving England to defend their lead with ten men for the best part of a half.

The conditions didn't help. The match was delayed by an hour because of adverse weather near the Azteca Stadium, which sits 2,240 metres above sea level. That combination of altitude, a red card and a hostile crowd made it a proper test of nerve.

“From a City perspective, it was a demanding night for players expected to be part of Maresca's early plans.”

The upside is obvious. Three defensive and midfield assets have now banked serious knockout minutes in one of the tournament's most unforgiving environments. That experience doesn't come cheap in a training ground drill.

The cost is the calendar. England's progression, with Norway and Erling Haaland waiting in the quarter-finals, pushes another group of City players further away from a clean summer reset. Maresca will welcome the tournament experience his players are gaining. His more immediate challenge is making sure the value of that run doesn't become a problem when City regroup in Manchester.

Norway's run has already created a separate workload issue for the City boss. Now both sides of the quarter-final carry City interests.

Rico Lewis may push for a Manchester City exit this summer unless new manager Enzo Maresca guarantees him regular first-team football, according to reports.

The 21-year-old's involvement during Pep Guardiola's final season fell well short of what the player and those around him had hoped. Despite signing a five-year contract extension in September 2025 that keeps him at the club until 2030, Lewis made just 11 Premier League appearances last term, starting only four league games.

That disconnect between long-term commitment and short-term frustration has created uncertainty around his future — uncertainty that Maresca's arrival has done little to resolve. The new head coach has yet to make his intentions clear regarding every member of the squad ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

Director of football Hugo Viana is overseeing a significant rebuild at the Etihad this summer, and Lewis's role within that new structure is one of several personnel decisions Maresca must address before the window closes.

According to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, Lewis could push for a move away if he is not promised regular minutes under Maresca — a development that would represent a surprising departure for a player regarded as one of the most distinctive talents to emerge from the City Football Academy.

Despite his limited league involvement, Lewis managed five goal contributions across 23 appearances in all competitions last season, suggesting his impact when given opportunities was considerable — even if those chances were too infrequent.

Nottingham Forest and Everton are among the Premier League clubs to have shown interest, broadening the pool of potential destinations should Lewis decide his ambitions can no longer be met at the Etihad.

The situation is further complicated by City's ongoing pursuit of Chelsea's Malo Gusto. The arrival of a specialist right-back of the France international's quality would likely push Lewis further down the pecking order, narrowing his opportunities for regular involvement.

Lewis earned five England caps in 2024 during a period of more consistent club football but was not considered for Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad this summer — a reflection of how his reduced game time has affected his international standing and the urgency he feels around returning to weekly football.

Maresca is expected to assess all options across the squad before reaching final decisions on potential exits. Lewis's situation is understood to be one the Italian manager will address directly with the player before any definitive conclusion is reached.

Whether that conversation provides the clarity Lewis is looking for — or confirms his path to regular football at City is blocked for another season — is set to become one of the more consequential personnel discussions of Manchester City's summer.

Rodri has offered a timely fitness signal before Spain's World Cup last-16 meeting with Portugal, according to reports.

The Times of India stated that the Manchester City midfielder has eased immediate concerns over his condition and indicated he feels ready for the knockout fixture.

The update carries weight at the Etihad. talkSPORT reported last week that Enzo Maresca could be without the 30-year-old at the start of the 2026/27 season if surgery is required after Spain's campaign.

ESPN reported that Rodri has also backed Spain's midfield ahead of the Portugal tie, while acknowledging their opponents have "one of the best generations" in their history.

The game in Arlington, Texas, was described by Reuters as a high-stakes rematch after Portugal beat Spain on penalties in last year's Nations League final.

For Maresca, the situation is delicate rather than dramatic. A fit Rodri strengthens Spain immediately, but every extra knockout minute tightens City's pre-season margin. If Spain go deep, the new manager may have to build early midfield work around managed reintegration rather than full preparation.

Rodri's message calms the short-term injury noise. It also leaves City with a bigger planning question: how quickly can their midfield anchor return from a demanding summer and still lead the first tactical phase of the post-Pep Guardiola era?

Manchester City have released a documentary on John Stones, and they've made it free-to-air. The timing, with the defender heading for the exit this summer, feels deliberate.

The club are calling it The John Stones Story, and making it accessible to everyone rather than locking it behind a paywall suggests they want the wider football world to see what he brought to this side.

Stones leaves having redefined what a centre-half looks like at this club. For Enzo Maresca, though, this isn't just a nostalgia exercise — it's a statement of intent about the defensive standards expected going forward.

Whether the next man through the door can live up to it is another matter entirely.

Jurgen Klopp is reportedly targeting Pep Guardiola's final assistant coach at Manchester City as his number two for the Germany national team.

The former Liverpool manager is putting together his backroom staff ahead of what is expected to be his formal appointment as the new Germany boss, and according to Sam Wallace of The Telegraph, he has identified Pepijn Lijnders as his preferred choice.

Lijnders worked alongside Klopp at Liverpool during the club's most successful period, playing a significant role in developing the high-intensity, counter-pressing style that brought Premier League and Champions League titles to Anfield. He then served on Guardiola's final coaching staff at City before the Catalan's departure at the end of last season.

The Dutchman's coaching CV now reads like a who's who of modern football management. Having absorbed methods from two of the most celebrated tacticians of the era, he would arrive at any international setup with a rare breadth of experience.

Trust and continuity

Klopp has never been shy about the importance of personal chemistry in his coaching teams. The report suggests that continuity and trust are driving this potential reunion, with the incoming Germany manager valuing the shared philosophy he and Lijnders developed over years at Anfield.

Whether formal discussions have begun or Lijnders has been approached remains unclear. But the specificity of the reporting points to genuine, active interest rather than a vague background consideration as Germany's new management structure takes shape.

For Manchester City, this is another footnote to the wider coaching reset that has followed Guardiola's exit. Enzo Maresca has assembled his own backroom team for the coming season, and the departure of Guardiola's remaining staff — whether to international football or elsewhere — is an inevitable consequence of such a significant managerial transition.

Klopp and Lijnders have won the Premier League, Champions League and Bundesliga titles between them. Whether that partnership reforms on the international stage now depends on both parties reaching an agreement on the structure and terms of Lijnders's involvement. Given Klopp's appetite for trusted collaborators, the logic appears compelling enough.

Manchester City’s stop in Seoul has turned into something more than a mid-tour friendly. Enzo Maresca’s squad will play twice at the Seoul World Cup Stadium after opening the tour against Inter Milan in Hong Kong on Saturday, August 1.

The first of those Seoul fixtures comes on Wednesday, August 5, against a K League All-Stars XI. Three days later, the same venue hosts Atletico Madrid. Both are scheduled for 13:00 UK time and will be streamed live on CITY+ in permitted regions.

Seoul World Cup Stadium holds 66,704. It staged three matches at the 2002 World Cup, including Senegal’s famous opening win over France. City have been here before, too — a rain-delayed 2-1 defeat to Atletico during the 2023 Asia Tour.

This is still a commercial tour. No one is pretending otherwise. But for Maresca, the Seoul leg offers two very different examinations inside four days: a K League side with local rhythm and intensity, followed by an Atletico team built to make life difficult for everyone.

That makes the double-header a useful early measure. Pressing distances, rest-defence shape, midfield spacing — the kind of details Maresca will want to see taking shape before the season starts to harden.