Manchester City have not bought a first-team player in the January transfer window since the arrival of Aymeric Laporte in 2018.
Pep Guardiola was building from a position of strength at the time, with a 12-point lead Premier League peak as they raced towards the first and so far only centurion campaign in English football history. The scenario could not be more different this year.
Locked in the worst crisis of his managerial career, Guardiola has revealed that City could be forced to dive into the January market.
“We’re not big fans of it, but the circumstances of this season have been special,” Guardiola worried before watching his team lose again. against Aston Villa. “We talked about doing something.”
Here’s what that thing could be.
There is little Rodri has been able to do over the past three months to earn the same level of acclaim as he has while Manchester City have spiraled violently out of control in his absence.
When the Ballon d’Or winner limped off midway through Arsenal’s trip to the Etihad in September, City leading 1-0 and in charge of the tie. Premier League table.
In their subsequent 12 league games, the defending champions have dropped to seventh and shipped 20 top-flight goals. The season is not yet halfway through and City have already committed more shooting errors than in three of the last four full campaigns.
Ilkay Gundogan has only hypothetically returned from his sabbatical at Barcelona, ​​while Mateo Kovacic, the closest thing Guardiola had to a replacement for Rodri, has been bogged down by his own injuries.
Potential targets
According to reports, the City Council has drawn up a list of five midfield players. It may be the first of the candidates Martin Zubimendi. The slight orchestrator at the base of Real Sociedad’s midfield was the man Luis de la Fuente picked to fill the void left by Rodri’s half-time substitution in the Euro 2024 final.
Although Zubimendi does not have the same high physical profile as his compatriot, he does boast an ease in possession and a clear understanding of the game. There was a reason Liverpool spent much of last summer chasing him
There is no doubt about the physical ability of Ederson. The Brazilian midfielder covers the ground from two running players from the heart of Atalanta’s engine room. Blessed with a brain as powerful as his other muscles, Ederson seems to improve with each passing day under the watchful eye of Gian Piero Gasperini.
If City are on the hunt for a proven Premier League talent, he could be a good fit Bruno Guimaraes. Newcastle United’s talismanic vice-captain has a long-standing rivalry with Rodri but would do an admirable job filling in for the Spaniard and could easily play alongside him once he returns to the pitch. The City would only have to make £100 million.
Injury crisis in the city may have claimed their best midfielder, but that fitness woes have also plagued the bottom line. Matheus Nunes had to be uncomfortable in a left-back role for December’s Manchester derby – and conceded a well-headed penalty – after Guardiola was left with just three fit defenders. Rubén Dias has subsequently been forced to one increasingly crowded treatment room.
While a declining Kyle Walker lives up to his surname on the right side of City’s backline, Guardiola has been searching for a natural left-back for years.
The reigning champions are in desperate need of any vaguely defensive figure after conceding two or more goals in seven consecutive games between late October and early December. The last time City suffered such a porous run was in 1963, when they conceded 102 league goals and were relegated.
Potential targets
The role of a full-back in a Guardiola team may be the most complex position in football. Suitable candidates must boast midfield craft and defensive intelligence. Miguel Gutierrez he is one of the few players with a keen appreciation for the demands of this hybrid role.
The former Real Madrid graduate has thrived at Girona as an inverted left-back under Michel. As one of the teams under the The umbrella of influence of the City Football GroupGutiérrez’s coach has access to the exact training exercises that Guardiola draws up in Manchester. This CFG link will also grease the wheels of any transfer negotiations.
In recent years, Guardiola has increasingly valued the physicality and delicacy of his defenders. from Barcelona Jules Kounde i David Hanko Both from Feyenoord offer a unique balance of flair and guile having operated as both centre-backs and wing-backs.
When Julian Alvarez forced his way into an £81.5m move to Atletico Madrid in the summer, hinted Guardiola that City would secure a replacement for the World Cup winner in the remaining days of the transfer window. A 33-year-old Gundogan was the only player to arrive.
The captain of City’s treble-winning side has been a shadow of his former self this season, notable for his struggles in a team that is putting in form worthy of relegation fodder.
Kevin De Bruyne has barely featured this term and Phil Foden might as well have sat himself. The reigning Premier League Player of the Year didn’t score his first League goal of the current season until December 21, netting a consolation in defeat to Aston Villa with his 30th try of the campaign .
Potential targets
City have been optimistically linked with the Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtzbut the prolific German prodigy won’t be going anywhere in January for less than nine figures. Even then, Leverkusen he could simply refuse to lose their best player in the middle of the season.
Omar Marmoush He may not have the same hype as Wirtz, but the Egypt international has racked up the same number of assists in the Bundesliga (seven) and scored almost twice as many La Liga goals (13) as the in-demand playmaker this season . The Eintracht Frankfurt’s record striker has been repeatedly linked with Liverpool this season but would surely be interested in a move from the reigning Premier League champions.
Nico PazThe modest figure of two goals and three assists must be put into perspective. The Real Madrid Academy graduate operates at the epicenter of Cesc Fabregas’ newly promoted Como, pulling the strings with a charming, almost casual style.
A City team that increasingly seems too terrified to try anything bold for fear of repercussions, only to make a mistake while playing it safe, could do with Paz’s sense of adventure.
