Manchester City is preparing to have a major overhaul this summer and could get rid of as many as six players in the team that won last season’s Premier League championship, as the clubs bosses lose patience with Manuel Pellegrini’s team.
The Chilean manager’s fate could be decided when club chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak takes an in-depth look at Manchester City’s overall performance in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season, with the performances of Yaya Touré, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Gaël Clichy, Aleksandar Kolarov and Stevan Jovetic all coming into question after having not lived up to expectations.
All these players could find themselves leaving in the summer along with Frank Lampard who is set to join the clubs MLS franchise, New York City FC and James Milner leaving on a free contract most likely to Liverpool as the rebuilding at the Etihad gets under way.
While manager Manuel Pellegrini prospects of remaining in charge might seem slim following the 4-2 against Manchester United at the weekend, many senior figures at the club feel as though he has been let down by his high-profile star players.
The belief is that the club now wants to get rid of the team’s big earners and replace them with younger hungrier players.
Top summer targets include Kevin De Bruyne (22) Ross Barkley (21) Paul Pogba (22) Raheem Sterling (20).
City’s failure to qualify for Champions League football will come as a bitter blow in their efforts to attract the best young talent, and also means that City would also miss out on the £50 million that comes with playing in Europe’s top competition.
In the past the clubs players huge salaries have made it difficult for them to sell players like Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri, but since going to a performance based wage they should no longer face the problem they had in when trying to sell Robinho, Wayne Bridge and Emmanuel Adebayor.
