Major League Soccer club eye January transfer for Manchester City midfielder | OneFootball

Manchester City could be subject to Major League Soccer interest in one of their leading attacking midfield stars during the upcoming January market.

The Premier League champions are enduring a torrid run of form across competitions, having lost seven of their last 10 matches and falling to fourth in the English top-flight and 22nd in the UEFA Champions League.

The latest of those results came in Europe’s premier club competition, with Juventus issuing a 2-0 defeat upon Pep Guardiola’s side in Turin this week, causing further reason for concern over their hopes of a last-16 place in the tournament for 2025.

For the most-part of the campaign, City fans have been calling out for a revamp of Guardiola’s first-team squad, with January transfer market activity in the way of arrivals into the club being hugely important to any hopes of silverware come the end of the campaign.

However, whilst a long list of players are being tipped with potential interest from the Etihad Stadium, the latest report links one of Pep Guardiola’s greatest-ever servants with a dramatic mid-season move away from the club.

That is according to the information of TBR Football, who claim that MLS giants San Diego FC are looking to bring Kevin De Bruyne to the United States in the upcoming January transfer window, rather than waiting until next summer when he could become a free agent.

It is claimed that the Major League Soccer side have already held talks with De Bruyne over a possible future transfer, and as things stand, the club would be able to make an official offer in January with the 33-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of the season.

Unsurprisingly given their long-standing interest, it is further reported that the Saudi Pro League are San Diego’s biggest rivals for the Belgium international and remain confident of landing the midfielder whilst also being willing to issue a transfer fee in January.

For now, it remains highly unlikely that Manchester City would be willing to sanction an exit for De Bruyne in the middle of the season, given the player’s importance to offensive chance creation and due to the existing lack of options in the centre of the park.

Injuries to Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, and Phil Foden at various points of the campaign, coupled with De Bruyne’s own fitness issues, have directly contributed to Manchester City’s terrible form and as such Guardiola would be very reluctant to dwindle his names even further.

One name that may be considered for a temporary or permanent exit in the January market is James McAtee – a player that Pep Guardiola personally demanded to be included in his first-team squad for the ongoing season.

The England youth international had been fresh off the back of consecutive loan spells in the Championship and Premier League with Sheffield United, only to be included by Guardiola and City staff in the Etihad squad this campaign but seeing very little in the way of opportunities.