For years, Manchester City ’lived’ with a short rotation of players. It was Pep Guardiola’s wish, but also the club’s wealth and ability to buy quality players. The Spanish tactician wished and got the footballers he wanted, the ones who can play in multiply positions. From Foden and Bernardo Silva (all positions in midfield), to Julian Alvarez (striker, false nine, attacking midfielder) and Illkay Gundogan (anywhere in the middle), almost all his players (defenders included) could play in at least two positions. So the squad was small but versatile. But now, the time has come for City to pay the price of this transfer policies. The team suffered a vast majority of injuries this season and have all but lost the Premier League title already. Their unprecedented crisis (only one win in 11 matches) is the result of that.🚨 #ManCity will look for up to three players in the January transfer window, wanting a central midfielder, a full back and a forward with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi high on @ManCity’s list of targets.[@Jack_Gaughan] pic.twitter.com/Sqa7vb1Ada— Mitchell (@BluDaBlue) December 20, 2024 So, after many years, Pep Guardiola is forced to look for the players in the uncertain and expensive January transfer window. It’s so obvious, that even he didn’t even tried to hide it.“In winter, it’s if we really need it, or if we can really find something. It is not easy to do. Clubs don’t want to sell and players are so expensive. It depends on the market, we’ll see“ he said ahead of today’s game with Aston Villa. Off course, the moaning about the price will hardly touch anyone in the football world, considering the wealth of the owners and the number of breaches they committed in the Premier League (115 for now), but the fact remains – Pep decided to buy someone, first and foremost the player to replace Rodri.The agony continues – another key part of Pep’s squad is outThe number 6 is a priority, as the Spanish international is out for almost the entire season, while Mateo Kovačić, as his substitute is past his best. So, the Citizens are looking at Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi. The Spanish international was a subject a bid from Liverpool during the June transfer window but after the clubs agreed, changed his mind in the last minute. Now it’s believed he wouldn’t turn down a chance to move to England. As for Guimaraes, City are not the only team tracking him down, but his move would cost the English champion around 100 million euros. He is established Premier League player, has a release clause which exceeds the mentioned amount and he was made captain this season. However, he signed for Newcastle in order to play in the Champions League, and with the Citizens, he would be doing that on a regular basis, unlike with the Magpies. January is just around the corner…ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 17Saturday15:30: (3.50) Aston Villa (3.60) Man.City (2.15)18:00: (2.35) Brentford (3.50) Nott.Forest (3.15)18:00: (4.60) Ipswich (3.90) Newcastle (1.73)18:00: (2.90) West Ham (3.75) Brighton (2.40)20:30: (5.70) Crystal Palace (4.00) Arsenal (1.67)Sunday17:00: (5.30) Everton (4.00) Chelsea (1.63)17:00: (1.45) Fulham (4.50) Southampton (7.00)17:00: (2.55) Leicester (3.65) Wolverhampton (2.75)17:00: (1.90) Man.Utd. (3.70) Bournemouth (4.40)19:30: (4.10) Tottenham (4.40) Liverpool (1.80)***odds are subject to change***
