Man City have two top captaincy candidates and a surprise new leader if Ilkay Gundogan departs

Pep Guardiola will be hoping for a smooth summer with minimal disruption but the prospect of losing Ilkay Gundogan is still in the air.

Last year was a hectic one for Manchester City as Guardiola changed his usual tactic of gradual improvement with tweaks in the transfer window in favour of a big shake-up to keep his squad fresh and hungry. Out went four players in Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Aleks Zinchenko and Fernandinho who had been so integral to the club's recent success and in came Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Manuel Akanji and Kalvin Phillips to replace them.

Not only did plenty of winning experience leave, but the arrival of a lethal centre-forward in Haaland heralded the beginning of a new era and style of play at the Etihad. It has taken a little while to fully gel but now City are beginning to look better than ever.

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So much change inevitably led to kinks that required ironing out so Guardiola may be hoping for a summer of consolidation and subtle additions this time around. But he may have little choice when it comes to Gundogan.

The midfielder who remains such an integral figure in Guardiola's team and one of his most trusted lieutenants on the biggest of occasions, is out of contract in the summer. A new deal is yet to be agreed, with Barcelona already being linked with a swoop for him, and the Blues boss has admitted he's earned the right to do whatever he wants.

"I think I know my opinion about Ilkay. What Ilkay has done against Aston VIlla last season he can do whatever he wants," he said in February. "He has the paradise already. So he knows exactly my opinion about him.

"The club knows it and it is a question for