Manchester City centre back Vitor Reis has departed the club to join Girona on a season-long loan.
City paid £29.6 million ($39.8 million) to land 19-year-old Reis from Palmeiras in the January transfer window as part of their emergency squad rebuild, but the young Brazilian played just one minute of Premier League action in the second half of the season.
Reis managed four appearances in total, starting twice in the FA Cup and once at the Club World Cup, but found himself struggling to make matchday squads in the final few weeks of the season.
To further his development, Reis has now left to join Girona, part of the City Football Group, for the upcoming season.
Reis becomes the 16th player to leave City for a temporary spell with Girona but the first since 2022, when right back Yan Couto and midfielder Yangel Herrera took their talents to Estadi Montilivi. Herrera ended up joining Girona permanently the following summer, while Couto’s loan deal ran until 2024.
Another January signing, Abdukodir Khusanov, managed 10 appearances following his mid-season arrival and is one of several options available to manager Pep Guardiola.
Rúben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones are the natural centre backs on the books at City, while Joško Gvardiol could play more minutes in a central role following the arrival of left back Rayan Aït-Nouri earlier this summer.
Right back is thought to be an area of concern for Guardiola, who authorised the permanent departure of Kyle Walker to Burnley early in the summer. Matheus Nunes, a natural midfielder, ended the season as the regular starter but Guardiola is known to hold an interest in Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Confirm Loan Departure of January Signing.
