Manchester City are ready to aggressively attack the January transfer window in a bid to rescue their season, with Pep Guardiola personally demanding at least three new faces, according to a fresh report.
Man City make unwanted Champions League history
So used to being Champions League heavyweights, Manchester City made history for all the wrong reasons against Feyenoord as they became the first side in the competition’s history to lead 3-0 at the 75-minute mark of a game and fail to win, collapsing to allow the Dutch side to claim a famous 3-3 draw.
It continued a woeful run of form for Guardiola’s side, who have not won a game in over a month and lost each of their last three Premier League games, leaving them eight points behind Liverpool, who they face at Anfield on Sunday.
Thrashed 4-0 at home by Tottenham in their last top-flight outing, Guardiola later admitted that his side were “fragile” and said the same after the draw with Feyenoord.
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“The game was fine at 3-0, playing good, but then we concede a lot goals because we were not stable. We gave them the first and then the other one, that is why it was difficult.
“We have lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course we needed a victory. The game was good for the confidence. We were playing a good level but the first time something happened we had problems.”
One way to fix that is by fresh faces, and now Manchester City are reportedly determined to be active in January, with three men specifically requested by Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola demands Man City to sign trio in January
That is according to a report coming out of Spain, which claims that Guardiola has asked the Manchester City board to sign three new players in the winter window, with the club planning an aggressive move.
The first of those is Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who has been the subject of interest from Arsenal and Liverpool in recent transfer windows and is seen as Rodri’s replacement, having done so at the final of Euro 2024.
There is a £50m release clause written into his £49,000 a week deal in San Sebastian, but, as Liverpool found over the summer, it may not be that simple.
Another transfer that Guardiola is thought to be pursuing is Leverkusen jewel Florian Wirtz, who is seen as the future of the Manchester City attack as Kevin de Bruyne enters the twilight of his career.
Wirtz has been on fire so far this season, and scored twice against RB Salzburg to take his tally to nine for the season. With no release clause in his contract at the Bay Arena, he could be a record signing for Manchester City, while his £120,000 a week wages would also likely need to be hiked up to move to the Etihad.
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Florian Wirtz’s impressive 24/25 (All competitions) |
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|---|---|
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Appearances |
19 |
|
Goals |
9 |
|
Assists |
4 |
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Minutes per goal/assist |
107 |
Finally, the report also claims that Manchester City are keen to add another winger to their ranks, and have pointed to Sporting CP’s Maximiliano Araujo as the player in question.
The Uruguayan is also under long-term contract until 2029, but a series of strong outings have sparked widespread interest in the 24-year-old and it is claimed that City “are looking to get ahead of the competition”.
With Wirtz and Zubimendi likely to be mega-money signings, securing deals for the trio would be a massive statement of intent in the unlikely scenario that Manchester City pulled it off midway through the campaign. They may be able to agree deals in advance of the summer though.
