Sergio Gomez has had to wait patiently for his opportunities this season after joining from Anderlecht in a £14m deal last summer.
Signed as a reserve left-back, Gomez was originally an attacking midfielder until he was converted into a defender by Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht. He's not the first midfielder to be used as a full-back for City, after Fabian Delph and Aleks Zinchenko, and even Bernardo Silva this season. Ironically this season, Pep Guardiola has now started to use full-backs as midfielders to transform his side.
For Gomez, he's failed to displace Joao Cancelo and then Nathan Ake as City's left-back, with Manu Akanji filling in on the left when Ake was injured in the run-in. Gomez's season started promisingly, with an assist against Manchester United and some encouraging performances, but he was awful in the Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton in January to the point where his half-time substitution was cheered by the travelling fans.
A positive end to the season saw him vow this week to fight for his place at City in 2023/24, and he currently has a chance to show Guardiola of his qualities as he represents Spain at the U21 Euros.
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While Gomez may want to show that he has what it takes to be a full-back, it may benefit him that Spain use him as an attacker. He was a left-winger in their opening group stage win over Romania, getting a goal and assist in a 3-0 win. He will surely play a key role against Croatia and Ukraine in the remaining two group games, and he will hope to go deep in the tournament.
If Gomez can rediscover the form that caught City's eye, it could help him convince them he should stay in the squad next season. Maybe there could even be opportunities in attack in the 'less-important' games, or off the bench.
As well as Spain, England will be hoping to leave Romania and Georgia with a medal, and they have four City representatives. Taylor Harwood-Bellis is the Young Lions captain, and kept a clean sheet in their opening win over Czechia on Thursday. Harwood-Bellis has just helped Burnley get promotion to the Premier League, and will be in demand over the summer.
City must decide if they want to cash in on the young defender, or send him out on loan again. With the number of centre-backs ahead of him at the Etihad, it seems unlikely that he would want to go from regular football to sixth choice at best at his parent club.
Likewise, goalkeeper James Trafford has enjoyed a fine 18 months at Bolton, and hasn't kept his desire of making the grade at City to himself. However, he won't displace Ederson and Stefan Ortega has proven a more-than-capable deputy. With Scott Carson signing a one-year extension, Trafford wouldn't get games at City next year, so a strong Euros could get him a move up the leagues next season.
While Trafford and Harwood-Bellis started in Georgia this week, Cole Palmer and Tommy Doyle were on the bench. Both have decisions to make this summer, with their next move important in their developments. Palmer has had a frustrating campaign but ended strongly, while Doyle was a key player in Sheffield United's promotion and will want to continue that momentum. They will hope to have some impact for the under-21s to show any watching clubs of their quality on the big stage.
Finally, Oscar Bobb is in the Norway squad, and started as they lost to Switzerland on Thursday. One of the standout performers for the City Elite Development Squad over the last two years, Bobb has been mentioned as someone who could make the step up next season, or he could alternatively seek senior football out on loan. A talented playmaker, Bobb could help City decide the best course of action for him with some standout performances for Norway in two tough upcoming fixtures against France and Italy.
