Pep Guardiola and Manchester City target FOUR new players in upcoming January transfer window | OneFootball

Manchester City are reportedly expected to ‘go big’ in the upcoming January transfer window, with up to four new players being targeted by the club.

The Premier League champions find themselves in a seemingly inescapable run of form across competitions, having won just one game in their last 11 matches across competitions, falling further and further behind their domestic and continental rivals.

In the English top-flight, Manchester City find themselves in fifth position and nine points behind the current leaders Liverpool, with Arne Slot’s side also holding a game in hand on the clubs throughout the rest of the division.

As for the UEFA Champions League, City are languishing in 22nd position and know that they must take points from either of their remaining two matches in order to secure a last-16 play-off place for the New Year.

Those concerns on the pitch have largely been sparked by ageing legs in crucial areas, and a long list of injury problems plaguing the squad at various points of the campaign, meaning that Manchester City are now set to take drastic action in the coming weeks.

That is according to information included within a new report from MailSport’s Ian Herbert, who reports that City will ‘go big’ on backing manager Pep Guardiola in the upcoming January transfer window, with four new players anticipated.

It is further detailed that whilst central midfield is the priority for Manchester City’s recruitment chiefs in the market, a new back-up striker, centre-back, and right back are also being targeted by the Premier League champions.

Txiki Begiristain and his Etihad Stadium colleagues are often known to stay away from the January transfer market when it comes to immediate first-team arrivals, believing that the window as a whole is not ideal for opportunities to be done.

The last time Manchester City invested significantly during this window was midway through the club’s first Premier League title-winning season under Pep Guardiola in 2017/18, when Aymeric Laporte arrived from Athletic Bilbao.

Deals to have been done in the winter window include Gabriel Jesus and Julian Alvarez, both of whom would not finalise their move and make the trip to Europe until another seven months later.

City did complete a deal for River Plate and Argentina youth international Claudio Echeverri last January however, with the playmaker set to arrive at the club in the next few weeks having remained in South America on loan with his now-former club.