Man City boss could end up having to cut three foreign stars from his squad, as well as leaving a home-grown star off his Champions League list.
Manchester City's transfer plans mean that at least THREE of their current foreign stars will have to be shipped out to make room in the squad.
And even if Pep Guardiola adds an English talent to the ranks – with John Stones firmly in his sights – it will give the Blues a fresh Champions League headache.
Last season City had to leave an overseas player out of their Champions League squad, but if Stones or another home-grown player signs, they may have to leave out TWO players this time.
City will have 18 overseas players on their books when Ilkay Gundogan formally joins them on July 1, the same situation as last season, when Martin Demichelis was still with the club.
That does not pose any problems in terms of the Premier League, as their rules on overseas players are more relaxed – any player aged under 21 does not count towards the quota and Kelechi Iheanacho falls into that category.
But while the 19-year-old Nigerian does not count towards the Premier League quota, the rules of the Champions League are stricter.
Uefa also allow unlimited under-21 players, but insist they must have been with the club for at least two seasons, and Iheanacho does not reach that milestone until January.
That means that even if City do not sign any more foreign players this summer – which is highly unlikely – they will STILL have to trim one squad member from the overseas list they submit to Uefa in August.
Last season it was Iheanacho who was left out for the group games, although he replaced Samir Nasri for the knockout stages, the Frenchman being left out when it became apparent his thigh injury would see him miss a large chunk of the season.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that City are in hot pursuit of two more foreign stars, with Nolito seemingly set to sign after the Euros and Leroy Sane possibly joining him.
Sane would qualify as an under-21 player in the Premier League, but not in the Champions League.
But the Blues are also chasing Everton's John Stones, who would qualify for their Premier League squad.
Uefa's rules are aimed more at clubs producing their own talent, and allow a maximum of four “association-trained” players – that is, players who were brought through in the same country, but at another club.
City already have Joe Hart, Fabian Delph, Raheem Sterling and Gael Clichy on their list of association-trained players, so signing Stones, or another English-trained player, would exceed the limit.
None of those players are expected to be shipped out this summer, either permanently or on loan, so Guardiola could face a tough decision in August.
In terms of his overseas players, it is relatively straightforward – at least three need to be axed from both the Premier and Champions League squads, but that would happen anyway.
Pablo Zabaleta is talking to Roma, and there is a chance that Eliaquim Mangala, Aleks Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony could either be sold or loaned out.
