It is no secret that Manchester City plan a rebuild this summer, and their recruitment team have been working closely with Coach Pep Guardiola.

In a ruthless move, Kevin De Bruyne was told his contract would not be renewed, which frees up £20million – that is what the midfielder earns in a year.

Kevin said he was shocked, but at 33 years of age, he does not fit in with City’s plan to rebuild with young talent for the future.

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Pep Guardiola admitted that standing still in the transfer market last summer was wrong; and the champions have paid the price this season as they still fight for a top five finish. Injuries have not helped, but at times, younger teams have punished City.

The players facing an uncertain future include Jack Grealish, Bernado Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Ederson, Mateo Kovacic and Stefan Ortega. None of them can sleep tonight in the certain knowledge that they will be at the Etihad Stadium next season, or if they are, they could be demoted in the pecking order for starting a match.

I pity Ake, Grealish and Stones who have battled injury all season. I have learned that if any of those players I mentioned request a transfer, the club will agree to let them go. 

Arsenal fans reflect on the season

I spent a lot of time talking to Arsenal fans and assistants over the past few days.

I would imagine that supporters everywhere in the world would like to have enjoyed the week Arsenal experienced. After an historical win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, they completed the win with a 4-0 thrashing of Ipswich Town. That win at Portman Road extended Arsenal’s winning run to 11 games without defeat since they lost 1-0 to West Ham in February.

Arsenal fans and my coaching contacts insist that this should have been Arsenal’s season, given how close they pushed Manchester City last year. With players of the quality of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and David Raya, this team should have pushed Liverpool much harder. Liverpool made only one signing this year, and that was Federico Chiesa, who has found it difficult to break into the Anfield first team.

Arsenal still believe they can lift the Champions League cup, which would make up for the disappointment of not lifting the league trophy for 21 years, but if they fail to beat Paris Saint-Germain, it will feel like a season of wasted opportunities.

Many fans point to the fact that Arsenal did not spend enough in the right areas and

played much of the season without a recognised striker, but at the end of the day, the club should have been more successful this time around.

Maresca tells Jackson and Palmer they must start scoring

Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca called both Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer into his office a few days ago and told each player that Chelsea had no chance of winning a place in the Champions League for next season if they did not start scoring.

Palmer has gone 15 games without finding the net and Jackson 12. Even their own supporters have been booing them recently. Maresca admitted that he had concentrated on building both players physically but had not paid sufficient attention to their mental condition.

Chelsea are two points behind fifth placed Newcastle and Maresca, said of Jackson and Palmer, “To give them 45 minutes, one hour, it is a chance to see if they could score; and they can go again. But when they don’t score, for sure, I am worried.”

He finished by astonishingly admitting that if the pair would not start scoring, then Chelsea would not qualify for Europe next year.

Emery has to be careful not to upset major stars

Despite his prolific goal-scoring record of late, Ollie Watkins has fallen out of favour with Aston Villa boss, Unai Emery. Marcus Rashford is preferred upfront by the Portuguese coach and Ollie is not happy. He was frustrated and angry to be left out of the starting line-up against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and made his views very clear around the club.

Rumours circulating Villa Park are that Ollie wants out and his representatives are awaiting calls from the big six clubs with Manchester United’s Ruben Amorim definitely interested and as United hold Rashford’s FA registration and contract, the Reds could offer him in a swap deal for Watkins.

United have now lost patience with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, who have only six goals between them this season.

Two other unhappy players who didn’t start against PSG were Marco Asensio and

Jacob Ramsey.

Emery has to be careful because one of the reasons Villa have prospered this season is the team spirit inside the dressing room. Watkins originally welcomed the arrival of Rashford. If Emery’s star players turn sour on him and don’t trust him, he could be in trouble long-term.

Ancelotti to Chelsea?

Success at Real Madrid in any season is winning La Liga and beating fierce rivals, Barcelona. Success at Real Madrid is winning the Champions League.

Carlo Ancelotti has achieved these heights many times, but this season, Madrid will likely win neither, and for the president of the club, Florentino Perez, the fans who pack the Bernabeu Stadium and the directors of the club, that is a failure.

Carlo Ancelotti is undoubtedly one of the top coaches in world football. His personal trophy cabinet bulges with silverware. He is a legend at Real, but this season, he has failed to bring the success everyone unrealistically expects.

As the maestro himself points out, you can’t win everything every season. Teams have their winning runs, but those same teams also have periods when everything does not go to plan. Just look at Manchester City this season.

Sensationally, there is speculation that Carlo would leave at the end of the season; and behind closed doors at Stamford Bridge, discussions are taking place that he could restore the glory days to Chelsea should the owners decide to replace Enzo Maresca.

Liverpool vs Tottenham

It was another depressing week for Tottenham fans as they were beaten at home by Nottingham Forest and their previous sacked coach, Nuno Espirito Santo. Once again, pressure ramps up on Ange Postecoglou as Spurs go from bad to worse.

With his team desperate to finish the season higher than their current 16th place, their forward line of Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have to do better. Club captain, Son Heung-Min is still out with a foot injury and Radu Dragusin is not available to boost the defence because of a knee problem.

Behind them, Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski are very capable, but up against Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, it is easy to say that in front of the Kop fans, they could easily be overrun.

Salah will severely test Djed Spence and this could be an uncomfortable afternoon for the youngster up against the PL’s top scorer. The problem with Spurs is that their defence is all over the place with no clear plan; and it was obvious against Nottingham Forest. Guglielmo Vicario was responsible for one goal but the defence let Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White come too far inside, and Spur’s midfielders did not know how to handle them. And during the game, no instruction came from the bench or leadership on the field.