Vitor Reis eyes Man City first-team spot as homegrown rules cloud his path

Vitor Reis is set to compete for a place in Manchester City’s first-team squad this summer after returning from a loan spell at Girona, but Premier League and Champions League homegrown rules may limit how straightforwardly the club can register him alongside their other non-homegrown players.

The 20-year-old Brazilian spent the 2025-26 season in La Liga, facing the likes of Vinicius Junior and Lamine Yamal, and impressed despite Girona’s relegation to the second tier. City paid nearly £30m to sign Reis from Palmeiras in 2025, and with Girona now dropping down a division, a second loan there is off the table.

The path to the Etihad first team has opened further with Nathan Ake closing in on a £7m move to Fenerbahce. The Dutchman’s departure would leave a vacancy for a fifth centre back behind Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol, and Reis is understood to be the internal frontrunner for that role.

He has already made senior appearances for City, and new head coach Enzo Maresca is expected to be without a number of senior players during the pre-season tour of Asia due to World Cup commitments — giving Reis a timely opportunity to impress.

However, the homegrown regulations that govern both the Premier League and Champions League squad registrations present a potential complication. Premier League rules require clubs naming a full 25-man squad to include at least four club-trained and four association-trained players, with a hard cap of 17 non-homegrown registrations. The Champions League carries a similar framework but, unlike the Premier League, offers no exemption for under-21 non-homegrown players.

Reis would not qualify as homegrown under either set of rules. Ake currently counts as an association-trained player, as do Antoine Semenyo, Guehi, Marcus Bettinelli and Elliot Anderson. On the club-trained side, James Trafford, Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly and Phil Foden currently qualify — but doubts over the futures of Trafford and Lewis could leave City short of the numbers needed to fill a full 25-man quota.

City do have homegrown alternatives at centre back. Max Alleyne, recalled from a loan at Watford in January, qualifies as club-trained having spent at least three years at the academy before his 21st birthday. Eighteen-year-old Stephen Mfuni, another highly regarded defender at the club, is also an option, subject to his fitness.

How City navigate those constraints will be a significant subplot of their summer planning as Maresca begins to shape his squad.