Manchester City witness key staff shuffle as Hugo Viana lays down crucial marker | OneFootball

Donough Holohan has joined AS Saint-Etienne as Director of Performance after 13 years at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City progress their major squad and personnel revamp, as per a new report.

The 2023 treble winners are coming off the back of a sobering 2024-25 campaign that saw the club finish third in the Premier League, crash out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lose the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola has been given a much-needed injection of fresh blood by the Manchester City board in the form of eight new signings since January – for a total fee in the region of £300 million – to challenge on all fronts next term.

The Blues have just returned to the UK after a Round of 16 finish at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, suffering a 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal after a promising start to the tournament that saw Guardiola and co pick up three wins in three in the group-stage.

Guardiola will see his players report back from pre-season at the end of the month after a much-needed few weeks off for the squad – following a long-drawn and draining campaign that began in August 2024.

Outgoings and contract renewals for the likes of Rodri, Ruben Dias and Rico Lewis are set to dominate the agenda in the near future as Manchester City secure the services of some of their most important players for the years to come and look to trim their squad.

Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker are all expected to find new clubs before the 2025-26 Premier League campaign begins next month as newly-appointed sporting director Hugo Viana orchestrates City’s rebuild and makes key decisions on the future(s) of first-team stars who have underperformed in recent years.

John Stones has been linked with an exit to make some room in central defence – an area that has too much firepower for Guardiola’s lacking and is likely to witness trimming as a first order of business – though the 31-year-old England international has expressed a desire to stay.

Le Progrès are reporting that Manchester City have also lost former performance specialist Donough Holohan to AS Saint-Etienne, who have appointed the long-serving City man as their new Director of Performance, as relayed by Get Football News France.

Holohan’s exit follows a trend of significant staff departures from the Etihad Stadium since Viana’s appointment, with Guardiola also recruiting new assistant coaches in the form of Pepijn Lijnders and James French to replace the departed trio of Juanma Lillo, Carlos Vicens and Inigo Dominguez.

Kolo Toure also joined Guardiola’s staff for the Club World Cup as Manchester City kick off a new era of hope and excitement after seeing their head coach sign a new deal in the fall of 2024 and commit his future to the club till the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

A lot can happen in terms of outgoings for Manchester City between now and the players reporting for pre-season on July 28, with Newcastle’s Valentino Livramento leading Viana’s wishlist to replace Walker as City’s long-term right-back ahead of the new season.