Coach Pep Guardiola has a list of 5 players he wants to sign to improve Manchester City's squad as the January transfer window is approaching.
Guardiola is going through an unprecedented run of form at Man City, having won just once in 13 games. The reigning Premier League champions have dropped to 7th place in the rankings, 14 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Spaniard is keen to see new players arriving at the Etihad in early 2025 if the club's finances allow. The Citizens have seen a number of injuries in defence, while Rodri will be absent for almost the rest of the season.
"If possible, we definitely have to add more players. We have particular difficulties in defense and midfield. I think we should do it, but I don't know if it will happen. The winter transfer window is not easy," said the Man City head coach.
According to The Times, Martin Zubimendi, Bruno Guimaraes, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz and Marc Guehi are all being considered by Man City. Zubimendi and Guimaraes will give them more support in central midfield to compensate for Rodri's absence.
Guardiola's side have been linked with both players in the past. At the moment, Bruno Guimaraes' price will not be easy because of his importance to Newcastle. Zubimendi, meanwhile, turned down a move to Liverpool last summer to stay at Real Sociedad.
In Guehi's case, Newcastle's offer of around £70 million was not accepted by Crystal Palace in the summer of 2024. The Eagles rate the centre-back highly after an impressive summer with England at EURO 2024.
Bundesliga stars Musiala and Wirtz will provide more attacking options for The Citizens. However, both are only 21 years old and the possibility of moving to the Etihad next January is uncertain. Moreover, neither Bayern Munich nor Bayer Leverkusen have any desire to sell their young stars.
In that context, Guardiola believes injuries have had a significant impact on Man City's decline. "Sometimes you have injuries. For so many years we have been very stable but now we are a bit down and the main reason is that there are too many important players injured.
But I saw the team spirit, the way we trained this week, the way they focused, the way they tried to train. We saw that against Everton, but unfortunately we couldn't get the result we wanted," the Spaniard added.
