Manchester City has received advice to allow two players to depart during the January transfer window.

Typically, the winter window is a quiet period for City, especially regarding new signings and even player exits. Their sole addition this year was Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield, who, despite getting some unexpected playing time with the first team, isn’t considered a major signing since he has already been loaned out to Las Palmas.

The last major mid-season signing for City dates back to January 2019 when they acquired Aymeric Laporte for £60million. Laporte’s arrival significantly bolstered the defense and contributed to several of Pep Guardiola’s team’s successes.

January can be a time for business, but City tends to stay away from the market due to its reputation for being overpriced. However, there’s always a chance.

Exits are also a possibility. City operates with a smaller squad than most Premier League teams, but there could be space for some players to leave. In fact, the fans are in favor of this.

MEN Sport conducted a survey asking readers to voice their opinions on each player in City’s squad, deciding if they should be sold or kept in January. A player deemed unworthy by less than 50% of the fan votes was marked for sale.

Kalvin Phillips, with only 11.7% of fans wanting him to stay, unsurprisingly leads the list of players to be sold. Since his transfer from Leeds United last year, things haven’t gone well for Phillips, and his playing time has been severely limited.

He’s been unable to secure a starting position in Premier League matches, even when Rodri was out due to suspension, casting doubt on his future at the club. Phillips has acknowledged he might need to leave to secure more playing time and maintain his position in the England squad for Euro 2024.

“I know that I need to be playing games and competing every weekend. I’m going to have to make a decision on [my future] over the next months,” he said in October. “Gareth just says that for me to keep my spot I have to be playing games. That’s what I want to do. I have agreed with Gareth on that.

“I want to play football and want to play as much as possible. Over the last year and a half, I haven’t been able to do that due to injuries and [other factors]. It’s something I am going to have to think about. Hopefully my chance does come but if it doesn’t then I will have to make other decisions as well.”

Sergio Gomez is the other player on the sell list, with just 46% of the vote. While he has shown promise in his brief appearances, a starting role seems unlikely for now. Reserve goalkeeper Zack Steffen, still with City, narrowly avoided the sell list with 61.8% of fans in favor of keeping him.