Unwanted midfielder, returning forward - Five things to spot as Man City return to training

As the nation reels from the Euro 2024 final and the end of the international summer, it is back to domestic action straight away for Manchester City.

The Blues return to pre-season training today, with Pep Guardiola welcoming back a smaller group at the City Football Academy than previous years as most of his first-teamers have been away with their countries over the last month. But some big names haven't, and will keen to make up for lost time.

All eyes will be on Jack Grealish, left out of England's Euro 2024 squad and who could only watch his teammates take on Spain in the final on Sunday. Grealish has publicly displayed his off-season fitness work with a personal trainer, aiming to return fit and firing this summer, while Erling Haaland has had to watch other world-class players at the Euros from afar.

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As the 2024/25 season preparations begin today, this is what to look out for from the City Football Academy:

Grealish was the biggest name to be omitted from the England squad, and has had plenty of time to stew on why that happened. He has posted videos of a training session at the CFA during an England game, while he took his personal trainer to Portugal in recent days for some warm-weather training to ensure he is in the best shape possible when reporting back today.

So City will expect a Grealish ready to make up for lost time, and play a full role in pre-season. As his England teammates come down from the Euro 2024 final, he must put any thought of that to one side and put all his efforts into pre-season training. The opportunity to work more closely