What Man City need in January transfer window
Martin Macdonald
- 7 Jan 2022 12:13 GMT
- 4 min read
Manchester City are one of the richest clubs on earth and have spending power that most other sides can only dream of.
In the 20210/21 campaign they reclaimed their Premier League title and are on course to defend their crown after an outstanding first half of the new season.
Pep Guardiola added to his title-wining side in the summer by breaking the British transfer record to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for a cool £100 million.
Thereafter, they attempted to spend even more to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham, only for that deal to never materialise.
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As Man City continue their assault on domestic honours as well as the Champions League, Guardiola might try and add some even more quality to his squad, especially after the departure of Ferran Torres to Barcelona.
What kind of business will the club conduct in January?
Goalkeepers
Manchester City have one of the best goalkeepers in the world at their disposal in Ederson and a solid enough back up in Zak Steffen. No changes required here.
Defenders
The only area that Guardiola may look at in January is the left-back spot. Joao Cancelo has been marvelous in that role but can also feature at right-back should Kyle Walker not be available.
Oleksandr Zinchenko plays there often but is a midfielder by trade, plus it remains to be seen how long the Ukrainian will accept a bit-part role at City before he starts making noises about leaving for more game time.
A move for Anderlecht wing-back Sergio Gomez has been mentioned.
The club are well-stocked at centre-back with Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nathan Ake.
Midfielders
This will probably be a problem for the summer, but Man City will need a replacement for Fernandino sooner or later as the Brazilian is now 36, with his career at the top level winding down.
City have been linked with Barcelona's Nico as well as Denis Zakaria, but neither deal seems likely as Fernandinho will wait until the summer to leave when his contract expires.
The midfield roster of Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva is one of the best around, and none of those players will leave.
Forwards
Man City were prepared to pay upwards of £130m to try and sign Kane in the summer, and although it turns out that outlay wasn't needed as they have been fantastic playing without a recognised centre-forward, it probably isn't a long-term plan for Guardiola to continue with no striker.
The club are still to replace Sergio Aguero, and now that Ferran Torres has left, too, they are lighter in attack than they once were.
The dream acquisition would, of course, be Erling Haaland but there is no way Dortmund will let him go during the middle of the season.
Man City may turn to a list of alternatives which includes Fiorentina hitman Dusan Vlahovic as well as RB Salzburg forward Benjamin Sesko, though the latter would represent an investment for the future rather than a player who would come straight into the first team.
As for departures, Torres is already away, while Raheem Sterling made noises about leaving earlier in the season, though any talk of that has died down in recent months.
