There are many Cityzens hoping to impress Pep Guardiola from afar in 2023-24, but who is performing well and who could be producing more?
Many clubs use loan spells to give promising players experience at a higher level than they are used to, with a view to them returning better and stronger and ready to make their name with the club they grew up at. But that is not quite the case at Manchester City.
The best Blues players to have come through the academy in recent years have gone straight into the first team from the youth set-up. Take Phil Foden, Rico Lewis or latest academy graduate Oscar Bobb. Rightly or wrongly, Pep Guardiola seems to have a very clear idea of who is naturally talented enough to play for his first team and can see their potential at a young age.
If they are not deemed good enough to make the step up, they are sent out on loan. And they do not usually have happy returns to the club. No players in the current squad have been out on loan, and the players who did excel elsewhere have been sent straight back out to pastures new.
A loan spell can still be useful to City and the players on their books, though. Goalkeeper James Trafford, for example, gained valuable experience on loan at Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers, helping him earn a £19 million ($23m) move to Burnley. There will be others that follow a similar path in the coming years.
With that in mind, GOAL grades the top City players who are currently out on loan…
Getty14Kalvin Phillips 3/10 🌟
Poor old Phillips. He must have been relieved to get out of City after a nightmare 18 months at the Etihad Stadium following his £45m ($57m) move from Leeds. But things have gotten even worse for the hapless midfielder while on loan at West Ham.
He gifted a goal to Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke just two minutes into his debut with his new club, who conceded 11 goals in his next three games, losing all of them. He was sent off against Nottingham Forest and has only started one game since. That was at Burnley, when he was hauled off by David Moyes at half-time as the Hammers were trailing 2-0. In his absence, West Ham came back to draw 2-2.
AdvertisementGetty13Luke Mbete (Den Bosch) – 5/10 ⬇️
The defender has had previous spells in the Championship with Huddersfield Town and League One with Bolton, and is now plying his trade in the Dutch second division with Den Bosch, who are scrapping near the bottom of the table and look primed for relegation.
Mbete has started 15 games and formed part of the joint second-worst defence in the league. He has at least scored twice, including bagging the winner against fellow strugglers TOP Oss earlier this month.
Getty Images12Tommy Doyle (Wolves) – 5/10 ⬆️
The midfielder is in his fourth loan spell and his first in the top flight. After playing a big part in Sheffield United's promotion to the Premier League last season, he had to get used to a peripheral role at Wolves at first but he has steadily been growing in importance since the turn of the year. He scored his first goal for the club against Brentford in January and has started the last four matches for Gary O'Neill's side, who are determined to push for European qualification.
Getty 11Maximo Perrone (Las Palmas) – 5/10 ⬇️
The Argentine was part of City's first-team squad following his January arrival last season, but only made one appearance. The holding midfielder has been sent to Las Palmas to get more European experience and after a slow start in La Liga he is now getting it.
Perrone has started 16 games and helped promoted Las Palmas effectively secure their top-flight status as they currently sit in 11th. They are stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment though, failing to win their last five games and recently losing to Almeria, who were on a 31-game winless run. Perrone picked up an early booking in that game and was taken off at half-time.