Chelsea FC have once again shown their interest in another product of the Manchester City Academy. Recently, Stamford Bridge has become a destination for many City products, particularly those who couldn’t secure a first-team role at the Etihad.
Cole Palmer is one of the talents who switched sides between the London and Manchester clubs. The City Academy graduate is now one of the best in his position, and many have described the Sky Blues’ decision to sell him in the summer of 2023 as a huge mistake.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are back again to sign Nico O’Reilly, another wonderkid on Pep Guardiola’s side. The 20-year-old was among the academy players recently promoted to the first team. He made 18 appearances for his boyhood club last season. Started 13 of those matches, scoring 5 goals and providing 2 assists.
He had 7 goal contributions despite playing out of position in most games, and Simon Phillips has now claimed on Substack that Chelsea have once again asked about the possibility of signing him.
It was, however, reported that Man City rejected Chelsea’s offer and will not entertain any attempt to make them lose the youngster.
Manchester City Want To Keep Nico O’Reilly – Fabrizio Romano Confirms
O’Reilly not only enjoyed a breakthrough last season, but his contributions to Pep Guardiola’s side were crucial. The Sky Blues found themselves in a difficult situation towards the end of last year. Many players couldn’t play due to the injury crisis.
During this period, Manchester City struggled defensively, and Pep Guardiola had to introduce O’Reilly as a left-back. The new formation allowed Josko Gvardiol to move into his natural centre-back position.
The experiment turned out to be a success. He contributed to the team’s incredible performances towards the end of the season, particularly in the Emirates FA Cup. He scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists in 4 appearances in the domestic competition.
Also, he came to the City’s rescue in their crucial away match against Everton towards the end of the season. Pep Guardiola’s side needed a win to boost their chance of making the UEFA Champions League spot, and the youngster got a goal in the 84th minute of the match.
It has been reported that Manchester City will do everything to keep the youngster at Etihad. Fabrizio Romano confirmed this in a post on Tuesday. He claimed that City are determined to have the young talent despite interest from many top teams, including Chelsea.
Also, The Times’ Paul Hirst confirmed the development, stating that there are “no plans for him to leave” this summer either on loan or permanently.
Pep Guardiola Insists on Reducing His Squad Players
The decision to keep O’Reilly is coming after Pep Guardiola insisted that he would not be able to manage a large squad next season. The former Bayern Munich coach claimed that some players would have to find new clubs before the 2025/26 season begins.
As a result of this, City were made to part ways with some of their top talents. Ilkay Gundogan who captained the team to the historic treble in 2022/23 season left the club for Galatasary in the Turkish super league. Ederson Moaraes also left Etihad after almost ten years at the club. The Brazilian goalkeeper joined Fenerbahce. The Cityzens brought in Gianluigi Donnaruma from Paris Saint Germain in the France ligue 1 as his replacement.
While Ederson and Gundogan left City permanently, Manuel Akanji joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan. Jack Grealish also moved to Everton on loan. Similarly, youngster, Claudio Echeverri followed the same footsteps, he joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan. Unfortunately, there is no future for James Mcatee at Manchester City, he was sold to Nottingham Forest where he will likely have the opportunity to play regularly.
