Manchester City are unlikely to have a quiet summer transfer window. Citing multiple sources, Football Insider reports that the club could lose both of last year's new signings — striker Marmoush and midfielder Reijnders — who were brought in for a combined fee of around £105.5 million. With an underwhelming 2025-26 campaign overall and their Premier League title challenge faltering, Pep Guardiola is juggling preparations for the FA Cup final while already laying the groundwork for summer squad changes.
For Manchester City, this is not simply a case of selling players to raise funds. Both men are on long-term contracts yet have failed to establish themselves as regular starters under Guardiola; when playing time and tactical roles remain misaligned over an extended period, the tension between a player's ambitions and the club's selection logic often erupts into summer exit talk. Football Insider journalist Pete O'Rourke says Marmoush "could push for a move" in search of more regular starting opportunities.
Marmoush: Playing time struggles in the shadow of the No. 9 role
Since arriving at the Etihad, speculation over Marmoush's departure has barely let up. O'Rourke notes that with so many options at Guardiola's disposal, breaking into the regular starting XI as a forward was always going to be difficult; Semenyo's arrival has only intensified competition up front, and Marmoush's seven Premier League starts fall well short of what he expects from his role.
"It will largely come down to Marmoush himself—if he insists on playing regular first-team football, that could push him toward leaving Manchester City," O'Rourke argued. The more immediate issue is his position: with Haaland the undisputed first-choice No. 9, Marmoush is unlikely to get enough minutes in his preferred centre-forward role. In-house data shows he has made 21 Premier League appearances this season for a total of 734 minutes, with three goals and three assists, a rating of 6.7, 21 shots and nine on target; the numbers are respectable enough, but a bench role without a single start still falls short of what his transfer fee and personal ambitions suggest.
From the coaching staff's perspective, players in this situation are not judged on a lack of ability but on the limits of the system. Guardiola tends to rely on a fixed core rotation in key phases, and new signings need more time to show they can match the tactical tempo in high-intensity games. If Marmoush keeps waiting, his real window may not open until a third season; leaving at that point would likewise be a sensible career move.
Reijnders: tactical tempo fails to win over Guardiola
In a similar yet distinct case, Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who joined only last summer, finds himself in comparable territory. Another Football Insider report described him as "close to leaving"; former Everton CEO Keith Wyness said he had heard Reijnders could return to Serie A—the player previously played for AC Milan, and rumours of contact with several Italian clubs are already circulating.
"Reijnders failed to impress Guardiola in the way he had hoped," Wyness explained. "Perhaps Pep felt his movement in midfield was a touch slower than expected. At Manchester City, if Guardiola is not satisfied with you, the club will always find a way to move you on—even if you are on a five-year contract." That reading cuts to the heart of City's squad policy: tactical fit comes before contract length, and big-money signings get no special treatment.
For Reijnders, a return to Serie A may not be a step back but a chance to rediscover his rhythm. Serie A demands a different kind of reading and positioning from midfield than the Premier League's high-speed transitions; if he cannot earn regular minutes in City's system to build confidence, a change of league need not be framed as failure—more as a recalibration of his career path.
Summer window structure: trophies in hand, squad still in flux
The issue is not limited to two new signings on their own. City's 2025-26 Premier League title push took another hit at the weekend, yet the club have already won the League Cup and face Chelsea in the FA Cup final this weekend—there are still trophies to play for late in the season. Even so, short-term results on the pitch do not automatically paper over structural tensions in how the squad is built: Haaland anchors the front line, competition has intensified since Semenyo's arrival, and midfield needs profiles better suited to high pressing and quick circulation.
So a summer of "letting several players go to free up funds" should come as no surprise. Guardiola's sides have long refreshed in part after title-winning cycles; when investment on the scale of £105.5 million fails to translate into stable first-team output in a single season, both club and player have reason to revisit their futures. For City's hierarchy, the real test this summer is how to optimize the front line and midfield without selling core assets.
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Whether Marmoush will genuinely push for a transfer depends on whether he can accept staying in a rotational role behind Haaland; whether Reijnders’ return to Serie A can go through, meanwhile, hinges on whether Italian clubs are willing to take on his wages and meet the transfer terms. Guardiola will not comment publicly on specific outgoing players, but if both remain outside the core first-team setup throughout the entire pre-season build-up, the likelihood of departures will only keep rising. For fans tracking Manchester City’s summer-window moves, the futures of this £105.5 million duo will be the first real litmus test of the club’s squad-rebuild logic.
