Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and six Man City stars who Pep Guardiola must move on to kickstart Premier League champions' rebuild

Kyle Walker was close to being pushed out of the team early in 2023 when Guardiola re-jigged his defence and started playing inverted full-backs rather than overlapping full-backs. Nathan Ake replaced Joao Cancelo at left-back, and for a while it looked as if Stones was going to usurp Walker after starting ahead of him in a win at Crystal Palace. Guardiola, meanwhile, famously doubted Walker's ability to adapt to the new system.

But Walker proved the coach wrong and played such a crucial role in City's treble win that in the close season, Guardiola booked out a Japanese restaurant in central Manchester to prevent him from moving to Bayern Munich.

At the age of 33, Walker had an unexpected renaissance, but little more than a year on, his new lease of life is fast approaching its expiry date. The defender had a difficult start to the season due to niggling injuries and Guardiola initially preferred to play Rico Lewis ahead of him at right-back.

Walker has since returned to the team, but his performances have rapidly declined. He has started in four of the six games City have lost since the end of October, looking particularly lost against Bournemouth, Tottenham and especially Liverpool, being culpable for both goals City conceded at Anfield. Walker's contract expires in 2026, but on current form, and with Lewis already ready to take his place, City should consider cutting ties with him one year early.

One has to feel a bit sorry for Jack Grealish. He went from being Aston Villa's talisman and the Premier League's most expensive signing to then being relegated to a squad player in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.

Grealish adapted to Guardiola's demands in his second campaign and was instrumental to City's treble win, albeit not in the way many expected, getting five goals and eight assists in all competitions (fewer than in his previous two seasons with Villa). Grealish played more of an understated role in the triumph, helping City progress the ball up the field and attack in numbers. But his reward for completely changing the way he played was for the club to sign Jeremy Doku to compete for his spot on the left wing.

The midfielder had a terrible third season, missing large chunks due to injuries and struggling to perform when he was available. It has been a similar story this campaign, and he has not scored a single goal for the club in 2024. He has been reduced to a squad player once more, starting just seven games in all competitions.

Grealish is under contract until 2027, but it is in the best interests of him and the club for him to leave this summer. His lack of playing time led to him being left out of the England squad for Euro 2024, and the 2026 World Cup is looking like his last shot at playing in a major tournament again. His superb performance against Ireland in a free role showed he still has what it takes for the Three Lions, but he needs to find a club that will let him be him.

Bernardo Silva has been one of the finest players of the Guardiola era, but there has always been an elephant in the room: he keeps wanting to leave. The Portugal playmaker might have got his wish in 2023 had Gundogan not also decided to depart, but he was instead convinced to sign a new contract until 2026, albeit one containing a release clause.

Bernardo's performances have dropped markedly this season. He has just three goal contributions (all assists) and he has been unable to give City their usual control in midfield. Guardiola felt he could not afford to lose Bernardo in 2023 amid other potential departures, but now a clear out is on the horizon, it makes sense for both parties to look elsewhere.

Gundogan left City with his head held high in 2023, wearing three freshly won medals to take his total tally of trophies won with the club to 14. Barcelona felt like the dream move for him, but the Catalan club's financial troubles and a few dressing room squabbles opened the door to an unexpected return. The reunion seemed to suit everyone at the time, but it turns out that the last thing an already ageing squad needed was a 34-year-old who had just become accustomed to a slower pace of game in Spain.

The injuries to Rodri and Mateo Kovacic have recently forced Gundogan to anchor the midfield, a position he did not look comfortable playing in the 2021 Champions League final, never mind at the age of 34. The German has looked out of his depth against Liverpool and Tottenham, unable to keep up with the frenetic pace.

He only signed a one-year contract with the option to extend it by a further 12 months, but taking up that option would just be kicking the can down the road. It's now best for the veteran midfielder and for the club to admit their mistake and part ways once again in the summer.

Kevin De Bruyne's unique talents mean he can still make a difference even after a series of debilitating injuries, such as tearing his hamstring twice in 2023. It should not be forgotten that he contributed to more than 20 goals despite only playing half of last season, and his decisive interventions against Newcastle and Crystal Palace hauled City over the line in the title race with Arsenal. But even he is beginning to wonder if his fitness issues are becoming too great.

The Belgian hasn't been able to play more than 22 minutes in a game since from a groin injury in November. De Bruyne explained last week: "I was hoping to be out for days, but it ended up being eight or nine weeks. It’s basically your lower abdomen and everything with the nerves around was creating pain in my groin, so I couldn’t really shoot."

De Bruyne revealed that his injury problems put talks about his future on hold, but he cannot wait much longer because his contract expires in 2025. He resisted an offer from Saudi Arabia last summer, but a move to MLS is believed to appeal to him more, perhaps as the flagship signing for new franchise San Diego FC. What seems certain, though, is that City can no longer rely on him to be fit regularly.

Ederson was dropped from the City line-up for the trip to Liverpool after an error-strewn display against Feyenoord. Guardiola has insisted he is still his No.1 goalkeeper, but Stefan Ortega has proven to an excellent back-up and has been ready to take the baton for quite some time.

When the German signed a new contract earlier this year, it seemed to be an indication that that was the direction of travel, especially as speculation ramped up about an offer for Ederson from the Saudi Pro League. Instead, the Brazil international stayed put, although he did not sign a new contract as expected. And that was probably for the best.

There have been doubts about the goalkeeper's shot-stopping abilities for the last three seasons, and they are only becoming more pronounced. City have three 'keepers who are all over the age of 30 and time is ripe for a younger contender to join Guardiola's side, either as an immediate No.1 or a future successor.

Both Ortega and Ederson's contracts will be up in 2026 and only one should remain beyond then. Assuming the interest from the Middle East is still there, it would make sense for City to cash in on Ederson next summer while they still can.