Six forgotten players could join Man City pre-season squad after Pep Guardiola revelation

The European Championship and Copa America tournaments mean that Manchester City's pre-season tour squad will look much weaker than previous seasons.

The last two summer tours have given Pep Guardiola a welcome opportunity to work with his full squad, aided by the 2022 World Cup being held in December of that year to maximise the opportunities of the tour to the US.

City are back in the states this summer, and the strength of their squad to face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea will depend on how various countries will fare in their international tournaments.

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Already, City know they will be able to count on Erling Haaland and Oscar Bobb, both having a summer off with Norway having not qualified for Euro 2024. Stefan Ortega has signed a new contract and will be in the tour squad, while Ederson is not with Brazil for the Copa America due to the fractured eye socket he suffered at Tottenham last month.

Sergio Gomez, assuming he is still a City player, will be in the squad, as will Rico Lewis and Scott Carson. Jack Grealish, brutally omitted from the England squad for the Euros, will also now prepare to be with City in the states. Any other players will depend on how far they progress with their countries.

Should a side get knocked out in the group stages, they may have enough rest time to then join City in America. Croatia and Spain, for example, share a group with Italy, meaning Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Rodri could be at risk of exiting Euro 2024 at the group stage.

The academy is set to provide most of the numbers for the touring squad, but there could also be some forgotten faces among the group. Speaking on Monday, Pep Guardiola opened the door for Joao Cancelo to be part of the summer tour for the second year running, despite spending the previous season out on loan.

"The two clubs [City and Barcelona] will sit down. He is our player and, if an agreement is not reached, he will have to return in the pre-season," Guardiola said of the Portuguese full-back. "If he wants to stay here [at Barcelona], and the clubs agree, it will be done again."

The prospect of Cancelo playing for City on tour could set him up for an appearance against his old loan club for another summer, with the Blues facing Barcelona in Orlando in July after taking on Bayern Munich last summer in Japan. Cancelo will hope to be competing with Portugal deep into the Euros, however, with a presentable group and a possible last-16 tie against a third-placed finisher, before a potential quarter-final meeting with Spain, Italy, Germany or even England.

Given Guardiola's stance on Cancelo, then the same will apply for outcast Kalvin Phillips, who failed to impress on loan at West Ham and is the subject of reported interest from Everton and other clubs in Europe. If he remains a City player in July, he will have a chance to work with Guardiola and get some rare minutes in a Blue shirt.

Maximo Perrone is another who could return from a loan, having spent a year at Las Palmas in La Liga. The Argentine was part of Guardiola's squad for the second half of the 2022/23 season, and played regularly in Spain. Another loan move seems likely, but City may use the summer as an opportunity to take another look at his progress.

And James McAtee, who impressed last summer before insisting on a loan move, is a fourth loanee who may use pre-season to convince Guardiola he can play a role in his squad for the upcoming campaign. McAtee has now spent two years on loan at Sheffield United, the first more productive than the second, so has a decision to make this summer.

Other loanees who may get a recall from the cold are Liam Delap - wanted by Hull after impressing there last term - and full-back Yan Couto.

Brazilian Couto helped Girona to the Champions League and has made no secret of his desire to play for City in the past. Whether that ship has sailed is another matter, and he has been linked with Bayer Leverkusen if former Blue Jeremie Frimpong leaves, but it wouldn't be the first time that Couto has featured for City in a pre-season setting.