Manchester City transfer news: Pep Guardiola to act in January window?

Pep Guardiola began the campaign with a smaller squad than he may have initially preferred with Julian Alvarez being sold to Atletico Madrid.

City subsequently put together a 14-match unbeaten run to suggest that the group of players at his disposal, without Rodri and Oscar Bobb, were capable of cantering to more silverware.

Instead, City suffered their third successive defeat in all competitions on Tuesday night as they succumbed to a 4-1 loss at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

Guardiola disputed claims made by Bernardo Silva that City were 'in a dark place' after putting together their worst run of form for years, insisting that his team had performed well in Portugal.

Nevertheless, it appears that Guardiola has every intention of bolstering his squad numbers for the second half of the campaign now that City have been left playing catch-up in different competitions.

Guardiola searching for new players

According to Football Insider, City officials have acknowledged to Guardiola that there will be money to spend in January.

The report alleges that funds will be made available to sign up to two players in an effort to ensure that the current crop do not burn out as 2024-25 approaches a conclusion.

City are in a supremely strong position with regards to the relevant financial regulations after they generated approximately £116m during the most recent transfer window.

Some of the players sold were also academy graduates, resulting in those fees going down as pure profit with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules.

Target positions?

With Rodri sidelined for the season and many of their current central midfielders aged 30 or above, it would make sense for City to acquire a younger defensive-minded player for the engine room.

Torino's Samuele Ricci is one player who has reportedly been identified as a target, particularly when less than two years are remaining on his contract.

There is an argument that City also require another defender given that they have only posted three clean sheets in their last 11 matches.

Current options such as Kyle Walker, John Stones and Nathan Ake have either struggled with injury recently or have a history of fitness problems.