Story by
Shamoon Hafez – Manchester City reporter
Fri, July 17, 2026 at 2:34 PM UTC·2 min read
Manchester City welcomed clubs to their training ground on Tuesday to showcase the talent on offer during the summer transfer window
The exhibition day centres largely around players available on loan – or possibly a permanent transfer – for those who likely fall into the gap between the first team and the under-23 side, known as the elite development squad
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City have held such days for a number of years, where a short training session is put on in front of watching scouts, heads of recruitment and agents from Championship and other Football League clubs
A presentation was shown with data and analytics about each player, with conversations being held with staff in attendance afterwards, providing a fully-rounded view of what clubs will be acquiring
Though the list of players available is undisclosed publicly, Max Alleyne, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Charlie Gray are some of the names that may have been involved
All three have made first-team debuts for City, while 20-year-old centre-back Alleyne and left-back Wilson-Esbrand, 23, have both spent time away on loan
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Playing for City is the dream, but for many, the reality is that they may have to walk away to forge a first-team career elsewhere
In those moments, it becomes the task of visiting scouts and staff to try and convince these young, ambitious players that their club offers the ideal next step to move forward
One senior figure from a Championship club described the day as being “definitely a worthwhile exercise” as they are keen to foster healthy working relationships with clubs that have the stature and size of City
City’s first team players are scheduled to report for pre-season training on Monday as manager Enzo Maresca takes charge following the departure of Pep Guardiola
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The squad head to Hong Kong and Seoul the following week for three friendly matches before the start of the new season
Some of Tuesday’s players may be harbouring hopes of booking a seat on the plane to the Far East and still being around when the new campaign comes around
