Manchester City’s first-team squad is currently on a four-game pre-season tour across the United States, and Pep Guardiola’s side will be joined by a trialist during their training sessions. The team’s tour includes high-profile matches against AC Milan at Yankee Stadium in New York, Celtic, FC Barcelona, and Premier League rivals Chelsea. After these fixtures, City will return to the City Football Academy for continued preparations ahead of the new season.
However, the squad Guardiola has available is notably smaller than usual, with many of City’s key players still on vacation after their long commitments at the European Championships. Despite this, a player of interest joining the squad is Swedish youth international forward Amar Fatah. Fatah, who is currently on loan from French Ligue 2 club Troyes, is participating in the pre-season tour as a trialist.
Fatah, born in Stockholm and of Somali descent, signed a five-year contract with Troyes in the summer of 2022 for €5 million. Shortly after, he was loaned to Belgian club Lommel, which is also part of the City Football Group, for the remainder of that season. His loan agreement was extended throughout the 2023/24 campaign. Fatah’s inclusion in the City squad for this tour is seen as an exciting opportunity for the 20-year-old to work directly under Guardiola, even though he is unlikely to make a permanent move to Manchester City at this stage.
According to reports, Fatah had been undergoing injury treatment in Manchester over the summer and is now joining the squad as part of his recovery. While it is considered more of a developmental experience, it provides Fatah a chance to impress and possibly secure a more significant role within the City Football Group in the future.
Additionally, Manchester City confirmed that Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic will join the squad for the second match of the tour, with more players expected to join as the pre-season continues.
