Manchester City are set to keep hold of the majority of their young prospects for the opening months of the season.
A number of academy players have already headed out on loan to clubs across Europe, with Dutch side NAC Breda and Spanish club Girona popular destinations given their partnerships with the club.
There has been an additional window granted for Premier League clubs to do business with Football League counterparts, with the final deadline at 5pm on Friday.
Welsh international Matt Smith is expected to head out on loan for a third successive season, with League One side Doncaster favourites to land the 20-year-old midfielder. Meanwhile, Joel Latibeaudiere could seal a free transfer to Championship side Swansea. He would link up there with Steve Cooper, who picked the 20-year-old defender as his captain three years ago as England won the Under-17s World Cup in India.
There is unlikely to be much more business done from City though, if any, with the majority of prospects on the cusp of the first team remaining in Manchester as Pep Guardiola readies his squad for another challenging schedule.
City have factored in the extra demands likely to be placed on the players this season as a result of the pandemic into their overall transfer strategy, with injuries having already seen academy players used in the opening fixtures. And while club bosses are not thrilled with the standard of Under-23s football, it will provide regular opportunities for game time in order to keep the young players in rhythm between now and January.
