Man City receive £33m transfer blow over top Liverpool target but Pep Guardiola favourite set to stay

Manchester City look set to hold onto Kyle Walker for another season but one shining light from the Bundesliga, who is wanted by Liverpool, reportedly will not be joining him at the Etihad.

Defending Premier League champions Man City have had a quiet summer transfer window so far, with the £30.8m signing of winger Savinho from French team Troyes their sole arrival.

In fact, more have left the club than arrived. Centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis signed for Southampton for just under £20m, left-back Sergio Gomez joined Real Sociedad for a fee in the region of £8.4m, and midfielder Tommy Doyle made the move to Wolves for £4.2m.

While there are still several weeks until the new season begins, City fans may be getting a tad nervous about possible incomings; as other teams around them strengthen their squads.

And with illustrious manager Pep Guardiola out of contract in the summer of 2025, potentially making this upcoming campaign his last as City boss, the Spaniard may need some extra recruits to ensure he has one last hurrah.

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Indeed, some of their biggest stars have been linked with an exit, too. Goalkeeper Ederson has been attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League, as has talisman Kevin De Bruyne – although Guardiola has made it clear he wants to keep the Belgian.

England star to remain at City

However, one bit of good news is that veteran right-back Walker appears to be going nowhere. The 34-year-old’s contract runs until the summer of 2026 but reports have suggested he could be on the move.

Despite that, GiveMeSport claims the former Tottenham star – who has made 301 appearances for the Manchester outfit and scored six goals and bagged 23 assists along the way since the 2017/18 campaign – will remain at the Cityzens for another season.

Earlier this summer, the England defender said on his future: “I’ll go as long as I can. This is a job that I love. I never wake up and think I don’t want to go in. I love playing football. It’s my happy place.”

But with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

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Man City pull out of race for winger

Reports suggested City are looking for a long-term replacement for Walker, who can also play as a wing-back.

As a result, they were reportedly eyeing up Bayer Leverkusen talent Jeremie Frimpong. The 23-year-old, who can play at right-back, right wing-back, or as a winger, had a breakout season for the German outfit last term as they won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal cup.

The former Celtic man scored 14 goals and 12 assists as his side nearly went unbeaten the entire campaign, only to lose to Atalanta in the final of the Europa League. He has attracted interest across Europe in recent months and that has only grown after his displays for the Netherlands at Euro 2024.

Liverpool are one such club keeping tabs on the former City academy product, who left them for Celtic in 2019, and they may be at the front of the queue to sign him.

That’s because GiveMeSport adds City have ‘dropped’ their interest in Frimpong, who is reportedly valued at £33m and has just under four years left on his contract.

It may be back to the drawing board for City once more.