Manchester City raised eyebrows letting Gavin Bazunu and Romeo Lavia leave to join Southampton this summer as the pair were highly-rated and could have bright futures, but clauses were put in place so the two players have the option to return if they realise their potential.
Sam Lee of The Athletic says City are ‘confident’ that the ‘talented’ goalkeeper and defensive-midfielder will be ‘desperate’ to return in the future as they had a positive experience in Manchester. But if Saints opt to sell the duo on, City won’t have a chance of re-signing them.
Where will Manchester City finish in the Premier League this season?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th or lower
It remains to be seen whether the Sky Blues would bring back a former player, however, as they’ve so far resisted with Kelechi Iheanacho, Angeliño and Douglas Luiz. City haven’t shown a willingness to develop players that aren’t attackers either, so it would be a surprise to see Bazunu and Lavia be first-teamers at the Etihad Stadium in the future.
The Sky Blues could make themselves extra money with performance-related bonuses and the sell-on clause, so they stand to make a profit at the very least, however.
Pep Guardiola has overseen a summer exodus with Bazunu and Lavia being joined through the exit door by Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling among others, so City will look a lot different next season.