The summer after a Treble was always going to be interesting. How do you improve? How can you tempt players to stay after winning it all?

Pep Guardiola’s rule has been not to step in the way if a player wishes to leave. Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling were all allowed to bow out and there was to be no begging from City’s part.

Joao Cancelo found that out in January and ended up leaving a side that ended up winning the Treble. A lesson that ego is not everything.

He is bound to be one player that leaves the Etihad this season after an apparent rift with Guardiola. The Catalan coach said he wouldn't have cared if he had joined United in January as was his urgency to get rid.

 

Bayern Munich opted against his buy-out and it could be a quick in and out at City this summer too. Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan has left on very different terms.

He became only the second captain of an English club to win the Treble last season and travelled to Barcelona with a pat on the back and a bouquet of flowers. Cancelo - who was booed upon his Etihad return with Bayern in the Champions League - might not get the same treatment.

Meanwhile, another full-back could be heading out of the door. Bayern are heavily interested in Kyle Walker and the 33-year-old will spy this as his last opportunity to play abroad.

That would leave City without a top-class full-back on either flank, which would be a point of concern for fans.

There is a fear Nathan Ake and Manu Akanji, however well they did at left-back last season, could be found out this time around while City would be wasting John Stones at right-back.

Elsewhere, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte are being linked with exits. The former was been frequently linked with Barcelona, although whether a suitable offer comes in is debatable given the club’s financial troubles.

But the seemingly imminent arrival of Josko Gvardiol would surely see the exit of Laporte, who struggled for game time amid the current crop of players. There are also rumblings that Riyad Mahrez could be tempted by a move to Saudi Arabia should a proposal come in.

City will probably be fine but they must be careful. Too many exits could disrupt the equilibrium of the squad, which doesn’t have the greatest of depth despite its vast quality.

 

Mateo Kovacic helps soothe that concern and Gvardiol would add more contentment. But there might be a point where Guardiola has to say no, or at least use the extended olive branch to prod with.

Like any club, City must also consider the restrictions of Financial Fair Play and so would not be able to splash the cash without care, despite the perceptions of some. Losing all of the players mentioned above would be a risky scenario to allow.

In former years, the likelihood would have been that not all would have gone but with the influx of Saudi cash incentives and coming off the back of a Treble, players may want a fresh challenge and new motivation.

That in itself is something that the City boss will need to manage but put bluntly, is there anyone who would dare turn down a request to stay from Guardiola, one of the greatest ever minds in football?

I guess we will find out this summer. Guardiola might have to put his foot down to some either way, though.

[manchestereveningnews]