Man City tour squad could provide transfer hint as loan exit 'agreed'

We know who definitely won't be on the plane to the USA. Any Manchester City player involved in the European Championships or Copa America past the group stages will get an extended break and won't report back to the CFA until August 5.

That means European Champion Rodri, Copa America winner Julian Alvarez, talisman Kevin De Bruyne and all of City's England and Portugal stars will be absent from the touring party of the States. A squad thin on stars will take on Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea in the next three weeks, boosted by a number of academy players.

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While the squad is not likely to be rubber stamped until Friday given the complexities of the summer transfer market, some names are all-but guaranteed. Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish are the star men, while Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis and James McAtee will be other recognisable faces. Scott Carson is another, while Kalvin Phillips is set to travel despite seeking a transfer.

Croatian pair Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic will play some part on tour after exiting Euro 2024 in the group stage, but it remains to be seen if they will travel out with the full squad on Friday.

In terms of academy players, a number have been spotted in training this week and are likely to join the group. Defenders Tom Galvez and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey could feature along with midfielders Jacob Wright and Mahamadou Susoho, who both made the senior debuts last season.

Forwards Joel Ndala, Justin Oboavwoduo and Jaden Heskey are also candidates to travel having been around the