This week’s Q&A takes a look at Manchester City’s plans for the summer transfer window with the transformation of the squad set to continue.
06:00, 13 Mar 2026
Manchester City looked to have put the disappointment of their 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest behind them as they produced a dominant display against Newcastle in the FA Cup last weekend. And then they travelled to Madrid.
A 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid leaves them needing a miracle in the second leg next week and before then they have another tough trip down to face West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday night. With so much going on at the club, we’ll be hosting weekly Q&A sessions with our chief City writer Simon Bajkowski.
The day of the week it comes out on may change depending on what City’s schedule looks like, but essentially this is your chance to get an answer on anything you want – simply pop your question here at any time of the week and Simon will pick them all up and wrap everything up in one place.
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This week we are looking at the summer transfer window as well as the state of play with some club greats. After three transfer windows that have transformed the squad, it looks like there will be more change ahead.
What are the potential signings Man City will make in the summer transfer window? Will we only have a midfielder and a right-back? Ali
What is the plan for this summer window mainly about Livramento, Elliot Anderson, winger situation and what is the future of Vitor Reis? Santanu Bhunia
These questions didn’t come in after the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, but it feels like a natural place to start. After another mauling at the Bernabeu, let’s cheer ourselves up with some transfer talk about how the team could be better next season. That’s partly tongue in cheek, but we are getting towards the stage where City will want to be closing on exactly the summer business that they think they can do.
Elliot Anderson is a priority in a midfield that needs at least one more body in it. He won’t be cheap but has proven himself to be one of the most reliable Premier League performers in a Forest side that are one of the most volatile in the division, and his goal at the Etihad recently topped off another excellent performance. City face competition for him, and United will fancy their chances if they can promise Champions League football, but City will be confident they can land him. Other factors will determine if another midfielder is needed.
The next obvious position is right-back, although it is not clear that they will definitely sign one. They have certainly looked at a few players in the position, in the younger age bracket so not coming in as first-choice, but then they did that last summer and ultimately opted against. Links with Newcastle’s Tino Livramento have again been dismissed, which is perhaps another indicator that City aren’t convinced about spending a lot of money on the role (although Livramento’s injury record has also been poor over the last two seasons).
Everyone is happier with Matheus Nunes at right-back now he himself has committed to the position, and Guardiola was happy enough with Abdukodir Khusanov there to use him at the Bernabeu. Vitor Reis is pushing for a return to Manchester with his performances at Girona and Guardiola may decide that having more centre-backs that can be shifted out wide is better than signing a specialist who will not be as adept covering the middle.
Any word of a Bernie 1-year extension? E
Still nothing. It’s not impossible, and it has happened before with other players where they have come to an agreement late in the year to stay for another campaign. But it is not looking any more likely than it has done all season. Silva wanted to stay this season and wants to leave his mark as captain, but he seems happy enough with leaving the club in a good place again without needing another haul of trophies before he goes off to pursue another challenge while he still has plenty to offer.
How much longer are you staying Pep? Another 10yrs please. Norman
This also came in before the Champions League game, and there are more fans who are open to him leaving at the end of the season after that 3-0 defeat. That won’t be the way the board see it though, who still regard Guardiola as the best man for the job. Given City entered March alive in four competitions, they would probably argue that it has already been a successful season – particularly given last year and the changes over the last three transfer windows – regardless of whether City win anything or not. That may not be how everyone sees it, but there is a valid point in there.
Guardiola’s interview before the Madrid game with TNT leaned more into an exit at the end of the season as he reminisced about the grounds that he will miss when he leaves. There were also some people who took his very attacking lineup at the Bernabeu to be an attempt to claim one final emphatic victory on what could be his last time in the dugout at the ground of Barcelona’s most bitter rivals. Guardiola knows, though, that he is nearing the end, even if he stays another year and will also be well aware of the speculation surrounding his future, so can choose to lean into it when he wants. He certainly isn’t being as reflective and retrospective as he was last season amid City’s struggles.
Hello, Simon! There are a lot of rumours about Rodri potentially leaving for Real Madrid. The latest news about his contract was during the summer transfer window. My question is: what is the current situation with his contract? Is there a chance he will extend his contract or will he leave for a new challenge? He is my favourite player on the team, so I am very concerned about his future. Ulugbek
Hi Ulugbek, Rodri is an interesting one – not least because he is coveted by Real president Florentino Perez, a man who has been used to getting what he wants for decades. A new City contract has not been seen as urgent this season while the player has been working his way back from injury, but the club are now relying on banking the goodwill they feel they have to get Rodri to extend.
They will not want his deal to go far into the final 12 months next season and if they are to lose him will want a substantial fee given the support and patience that he has had around his injury problems. The World Cup is another potential complication though with Rodri spending a big chunk of the summer with teammates from Spain, and he will also have to weigh up how long he can thrive in a Premier League that is increasingly physical. I wouldn’t say City are worried about losing Rodri, but the longer it goes without any significant breakthroughs in contract talks the doubts may start to creep in.