What Manchester City fans can expect on transfer deadline day - 3 possible exits and striker search

Transfer deadline day will likely bring plenty of twists and turns today (Friday), but Manchester City fans hoping for any major updates could be left disappointed.

The Premier League champions have only made two senior additions this summer, with Savinho arriving from Troyes and the expected return of Ilkay Gundogan. Those signings have bolstered Pep Guardiola’s squad in the wide attacking areas and provided an additional midfield option, but the departure of Julian Alvarez does leave the team a little light on alternatives for Erlng Haaland.

Alvarez has been followed out the door by Sergio Gomez and Joao Cancelo, while Kalvin Phillips and Maximo Perrone have departed on loan.

Those changes leave Guardiola with a slightly stronger group than the one which claimed a fourth consecutive title in May, while James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly have also stepped up from the underage squad.

Here’s how things look heading into the final day of the summer market.

Can Manchester City fans expect any deadline-day business?

Yes, but any transfers are likely to be outgoing fringe players or youngsters. Issa Kabore could be the biggest deal of the day and he is expected to complete a loan move to Benfica.

Matheus Nunes was linked with a loan to Atletico Madrid earlier this week but that has gone quiet in recent days, while recent reports have also indicated defender Josh Wilson-Esbrand might leave on a temporary basis.

As with most Premier League sides, youth-team exits on loan would not be a surprise, but in general it looks like it will be a quiet end to the market at the Etihad. Pep Guardiola’s regular weekend press conference might also be worth keeping an eye on, just in case there are any late updates - he is speaking to the media at 1:30pm ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Ham United.

What about the search for a new striker?

City were open to the prospect of signing some sort of back-up for Haaland after Alvarez’s exit, but that has cooled since Gundogan’s return. The Blues do have a lengthy dossier of possible attacking additions that includes Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi, and Copenhagen youngster Orri Oskarsson.

However, neither are seen as priority players and City will not push to sign either of the strikers on deadline day. The only way the champions will complete any late business is if a player who is admired by the club suddenly becomes available for a reasonable fee.

The purchase of Manuel Akanji in 2022 is one example where the Blues were proactive in the latter stages of the market, but it looks highly unlikely anything similar will happen on deadline day.

Despite that, City could confirm the arrival of one attacker on Friday, with Divin Mubama all but announcing his arrival from West Ham via his social media channels. The 19-year-old is not expected to compete for a first-team spot at this stage though, and City are yet to confirm the deal themselves.