Plans for a 2022 pre-season tour are currently being finalised by Manchester City, according to a new report from the Mail, with the USA eyed as the destination of choice.
In recent seasons, the pre-season period has been hampered by a range of travel restrictions and Covid concerns as a result of the largely ongoing pandemic that is striking all corners of the globe.
As a direct result, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola were forced into putting together their match preparations for the ongoing season via a pre-season schedule at the club’s academy base in Manchester.
Pep Guardiola’s squad played a total of three matches, against Championship opposition in Preston North End, Barnsley, and Blackpool at the club’s Academy Stadium opposite the Etihad Stadium.
However, preparations for the 2022/2023 campaign could mark the return to total normality for Manchester City, as plans are being finalised to take the squad and playing staff to the USA for a pre-season tour.
This is according to the information of Jack Gaughan at the Daily Mail, who reports that Manchester City officials are currently in the process of finalising a pre-season trip to the USA in July, with the trip to last around a week.
The Mail report that Manchester City are planning two pre-season friendlies over in the States during the month of July, with Texas mooted as one possible destination for the summer.
While the trip is expected to last around a week, Jack Gaughan reports that the final plans and the overall itinerary could hinge on the club’s involvement in the 2022 Community Shield.
It is explained that should Manchester City not be involved in the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season – and that would happen if the club fail to win the Premier League or the FA Cup, or finish below second-place if both trophies are taken home by the same team – then the trip could last longer.
It had been previously expected that Manchester City would travel to Abu Dhabi during January as part of a warm weather training camp mid-season, however such plans were scrapped due to growing concerns around the risk of Covid-19 infecting Pep Guardiola’s squad and backroom staff.
For now, the focus will remain very much on the on-field events, with the club engulfed in an intense Premier League title race with Liverpool, an FA Cup quarter-final on the horizon, and a Champions League campaign.
