Man City loanee power rankings: Joao Cancelo surges back to the top amid Barcelona revival but Kalvin Phillips straight to bottom as nightmare continues at West Ham

Poor old Phillips. He must have been relieved to get out of City after a nightmare 18 months at the Etihad Stadium following his £45m ($57m) move from Leeds. But things have gotten even worse for the hapless midfielder while on loan at West Ham.

He gifted a goal to Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke just two minutes into his debut with his new club, who conceded 11 goals in his next three games, losing all of them. He was sent off against Nottingham Forest and has only started one game since. That was at Burnley, when he was hauled off by David Moyes at half-time as the Hammers were trailing 2-0. In his absence, West Ham came back to draw 2-2.

The defender has had previous spells in the Championship with Huddersfield Town and League One with Bolton, and is now plying his trade in the Dutch second division with Den Bosch, who are scrapping near the bottom of the table and look primed for relegation.

Mbete has started 15 games and formed part of the joint second-worst defence in the league. He has at least scored twice, including bagging the winner against fellow strugglers TOP Oss earlier this month.

The midfielder is in his fourth loan spell and his first in the top flight. After playing a big part in Sheffield United's promotion to the Premier League last season, he had to get used to a peripheral role at Wolves at first but he has steadily been growing in importance since the turn of the year. He scored his first goal for the club against Brentford in January and has started the last four matches for Gary O'Neill's side, who are determined to push for European qualification.

The Argentine was part of City's first-team squad following his January arrival last season, but only made one appearance. The holding midfielder has been sent to Las Palmas to get more European experience and after a slow start in La Liga he is now getting it.

Perrone has started 16 games and helped promoted Las Palmas effectively secure their top-flight status as they currently sit in 11th. They are stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment though, failing to win their last five games and recently losing to Almeria, who were on a 31-game winless run. Perrone picked up an early booking in that game and was taken off at half-time.

After a first taste of regular first-team football last season on loan at Coventry, the left-back is trying his luck abroad in Ligue 1. He started the first three games for Reims without making much of an impression and then missed four weeks with an ankle injury.

Wilson-Esbrand was reduced to the role of substitute since returning to full fitness and returned to British football by signing a loan agreement with Cardiff City on transfer deadline day. He has already started more games for Cardiff than for Reims and another loan in the Championship looks to be on the cards next season.

One of the stars of City's U21s side last season, Robertson made a real impression in his first venture into senior football with Portsmouth. He started practically every game between August and January as a box-to-box midfielder, scoring once and providing four assists. However, disaster struck early in the new year when he suffered a serious hamstring injury in training which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The right-back is another player on City's books to have never played for the first team or its youth sides. After loan spells in Belgium and France, he is finally playing his football in England and appearing in most games for Luton in their first-ever season of Premier League football.

The Burkina Faso international had a period out of the team after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations but has started the last four games for Rob Edwards' side, who are battling to prolong their stay in the Premier League after winning promotion for the first time last season.

Doyle was reunited with his former City youth-team coach Enzo Maresca when he joined Leicester and the left-back has thrived under his old boss, helping the Foxes soar towards the top of the Championship.

He had a big setback when he suffered a serious knee injury against Bristol City in September, sidelining him until the new year. He has had a strong return and Leicester won all nine games in which he played until last Sunday's defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup, when Doyle was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Nicolas Jackson.

The son of throw-in extraordinaire Rory Delap, Liam is in his third consecutive loan spell at a Championship club after stints with Stoke City and Preston North End. He got off to a flying start with a debut goal at Norwich and struck a beautiful winner at Leicester.

Delap's and Hull's form suffered a small dip but the Tigers and their main striker roared back. Delap scored five goals between October and December but his 2024 got off to a nightmare start as he suffered a serious knee injury in a New Year's Day defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. He has been sidelined ever since but is due back in April and will hope he can take seventh-placed Hull into the play-off positions when he does return.

The Argentine teenage sensation, who has been compared to Lionel Messi, has followed the same path as Julian Alvarez, breaking into the River first team, signing for City in January and then remining with the Argentine giants on loan before making the big leap into English football.

He had only made a smattering of performances for River's first team before signing for City but is now getting a regular run of games and scored his first senior goal last week - a brilliant individual run and finish against Gimnasia.

The midfielder had a brilliant season on loan with Sheffield United last term, scoring nine goals to help fire the Blades back to the Premier League. His second spell is proving tough as his side have had a horrid return to the top flight, although McAtee has helped them steady the ship somewhat. And if it wasn't for him, things could be far worse.

McAtee has played a part in all three of Sheffield United's victories, setting up Cameron Archer's goal in the 2-1 win over Wolves, scoring the only goal against Brentford and bagging a penalty at Luton - their only away win of the season. He also scored twice and got an assist as they thrashed Gillingham in the FA Cup. The Blades might be going down but it won't be without a fight and McAtee has been at the heart of their efforts.

The Brazilian full-back has never played for City and the closest he came was a place on the bench in the 2021 Community Shield. He is in his third season with Girona, who have had an astonishing campaign, leading the table for large parts of the season until falling behind Real Madrid last month.

Couto has played his part in the Catalan minnows' remarkable season, scoring once and getting seven assists. If he keeps it up for the remainder of the campaign and can help Girona qualify for the Champions League for the first time ever, he may even earn a recall to his parent club next season.

The England Under-21 international and recent European Championship winner joined Southampton on transfer deadline day and, after a rocky start, he has grown into a towering presence.

With Harwood-Bellis marshalling the backline and scoring two goals while providing two assists to boot, Saints have consolidated their place in fourth and look certain to reach the play-offs.

Just don't talk to City fans about his girlfriend... Harwood-Bellis is dating Roy Keane's daughter!

Cancelo had an almighty fall from grace at City, going from one of their most important players in the previous two seasons to persona non grata after falling out with Guardiola when he slipped out of the starting line-up.

After a mixed spell with Bayern Munich, he has landed upon the perfect club for him and has thrived at Barcelona. The Portuguese scored twice in his first month and after slowing down a little and displaying some defensive frailties, he has looked back to his best within the last month, demonstrating his differential quality in the final third, including scoring in the 3-1 win over Napoli.

With Barca reaching the quarter-finals and getting a favourable path to the Champions League final, there is a chance he could come up against City at Wembley.