Man City's ideal additions following their £140 million transfer expenditure, Jack Grealish's call, and Bruno Guimaraes' choice

With less than a month until preseason kicks off and Pep Guardiola can start preparing for the newest title defense, the new season is drawing near.

Even while it doesn't seem like new players will be joining anytime soon, after Euro 2024 is done, transfer activity should pick up. Guardiola will lead City into 2024–2025 with the same group until reinforcements arrive.

Preseason is when players like Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland, and maybe even Josko Gvardiol show up to prove they deserve a position at the beginning of the season. Oscar Bobb and Rico Lewis, two young players, will try to build on their successful preseason tours from previous years to remind the management of their abilities.

One can anticipate City's strongest starting lineup for the upcoming season, assuming there are no significant arrivals or departures. Guardiola has stated that Ederson will start at the top, followed by captain Kyle Walker and the dynamic Gvardiol at full-back. Although John Stones and teammate Ruben Dias had a difficult season last year, they are the best center back when healthy.

Rodri is unstoppable in midfield, and although Mateo Kovacic saw action at the conclusion of the campaign, the best lineup most likely features Bernardo Silva assisting Kevin De Bruyne. While Jeremy Doku finished the previous season strong enough to win a spot in the starting lineup to back Erling Haaland, Phil Foden can enter from one flank.

That leaves a "dream" bench full of important players who have contributed significantly during the last two seasons. Next year, Manu Akanji and Nathan Ake will be involved in many important games, and Kovacic will also be a valuable midfield weapon.

Sporting Director Txiki Begiristain has praised Stefan Ortega as the greatest backup goalkeeper in City's history, but should Ederson stay, Ortega will play a supporting role for another year. Nevertheless, Ortega is a good place to start when building a fantasy bench.

Lewis will be hoping for additional chances, either in midfield or at right-back, while Grealish must prove once more that he deserves to start—his early return from the preseason suggests he is prepared to work hard. The only guy still playing who completes a dream bench is World Cup champion Julian Alvarez, who has an incredible goal scoring record and serves as Haaland and De Bruyne's backup.

After his stellar play for Girona, Savio is likely to arrive and be given the opportunity to establish himself before a decision is made on where he plays next season. He is reportedly valued at £40 million.

Should City decide to reenter the market, Bruno Guimaraes is a name that keeps coming up. If he is genuinely a target for City, his rumored £100 million release clause may have expired, but that may serve as the basis for any negotiations. Savio and Guimaraes as bench possibilities in this perfect world would round out the list of ideal substitutes, both of whom would have the difficult task of breaking into the elite XI ahead of them.

When you include people like Micah Hamilton, Bobb, Matheus Nunes, Sergio Gomez, and Bobb, the depth begins to appear better than some current concerns.