Manchester City lose defender for pre-season tour in blow to Pep Guardiola’s preparations | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City will be without the services of left-back Sergio Gomez in pre-season, should the Spaniard remain at the Etihad Stadium.

The 23-year-old, who has been linked with a summer departure from the Etihad Stadium after making just four starts during the 2023/24 campaign, will miss Manchester City’s pre-season tour of the United States next month.

Guardiola’s squad are due to travel to the USA for a four-match tour, with friendlies scheduled against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea across North Carolina, New York, Florida and Ohio.

Manchester City will be preparing for a gruelling campaign, with the Sky Blues bidding to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive Premier League title, alongside competing in expanded versions of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup next season.

Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish are amongst the big names expected to travel to America with the first-team squad for the pre-season tour, although the 15 players competing in international tournaments this summer look unlikely to be selected.

Julian Alvarez would miss the pre-season tour should the 24-year-old be selected for the Olympics in Paris this summer, after Manchester City approved for him to participate at the games in France between July and August.

Sergio Gomez will definitely miss the pre-season tour, after the left-back was selected to represent Spain at the Olympics, also ruling the 23-year-old out of the FA Community Shield, should Spain reach the Gold Medal Match on August 9.

The defender made just 15 appearances for Manchester City last season and has been linked with a move to Real Sociedad this summer, after the La Liga side identified the Spaniard as a replacement for Kieran Tierney.

Gomez isn’t the first Manchester City player to be selected for the Olympics, with Gabriel Jesus having represented Brazil in 2016, and Eric Garcia having represented Spain in Japan at the 2020 Olympics.