Ex-Man City midfielder set to join Sporting Kansas City in double swoop

 MLS side Sporting Kansas City is set to seal a double swoop from Greek side Aris, including the signing of a former Manchester City midfielder.

Spanish international and ex-City star Manu Garcia, 27, is in line to join Kansas City alongside former Russia youth international winger Shapi Suleymanov, 25, in a joint deal worth in the region of $5 million, as per Tom Bogert.

The deal will see Garcia occupy one of Kansas City's three allocated Designated Player spots, joining Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi and Serbian midfielder Nemanja Radoja in the MLS. A City academy graduate, Garcia made four appearances across all competitions under then-head coach Manuel Pellegrini in 2015, scoring one goal in the process.

Loan moves to Deportivo Alaves, NAC Breda, and Toulouse followed before he returned to one of his boyhood clubs, Sporting Gijon, in 2019 for €4 million. After two seasons in La Liga 2, Garcia was sent out on loan once more, this time to La Liga side Alaves. But after just one season, he was on the move again, sold to Greek club Aris for €4 million.

In three seasons with the Super League side, Garcia has remained a regular in the starting lineup - although a cruciate ligament tear caused him to miss a year. This season he has gone on to net on four occasions in 21 games across all competitions.

Suleymanov began his career in Russia with Krasnodar before being sent out on loan to Turkey, Israel, and Greece. He made his move to Aris permanent in 2024 and has since become a regular starter on the right wing.

Assuming Garcia and Suleymanov’s transfers are completed as expected, they will join Mason Toye as the club's only non-Homegrown additions this preseason so far. These two latest signings could be in line to start their careers in the deep end, with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami the next side scheduled to play Kansas City at the CONCACAF Champions Cup on February 14.

This will be followed by a regular-season opener down in Texas at Austin FC on February 22 before Kansas City heads for Florida to take on Inter Miami once more in the Championship Cup three days later.

Kansas City has won two MLS Cups - with its most recent championship coming 12 years ago - four U.S. Open Cups, and the 2000 Supporters' Shield. The team's current head coach is Pete Vermes, who's been in charge since 2009.