Manchester City target six-month loan deal for Juventus midfielder | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City are reportedly eyeing a temporary agreement for a Juventus midfielder to bolster their central midfield ranks this month.

Txiki Begiristain and his colleagues in first-team recruitment at the Etihad Stadium have endured a busy opening two-and-a-half weeks in the January transfer window, as Manchester City look to get their season back on track.

A mixture of high-profile injuries, widespread lack of fitness, and an overall ageing squad has left Pep Guardiola with depleted options for the most-part of the campaign, forcing the club to take urgent action this month in the transfer market.

Defensive reinforcements are expected to be formally announced by Manchester City early next week as Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis arrive from RC Lens in France and Palmeiras in Brazil respectively.

Additionally, there is an expectation that Omar Marmoush will arrive in a €75 million switch from Eintracht Frankfurt. However, the business is unlikely to end there with a new report pointing towards Manchester City’s next priority position in their squad.

That is according to the information of The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who reveals that Manchester City are considering whether to continue their January recruitment by adding a midfielder this month and are ‘exploring multiple options’ including Juventus’ Douglas Luiz.

It is explained that City officials would be looking to acquire the Brazilian midfielder on loan until the end of the season and with no obligation to buy, however Juventus are said to be preferring a sale or loan with obligation to buy.

As such, any deal is only likely to work for Manchester City if the Serie A club’s stance on the player changes before the transfer deadline early next month, while Luiz is not the club’s only only target despite being in their thinking.

For now, it remains to be seen whether there are any further players of interest to the Etihad Stadium’s recruitment bosses this month, with reports in Italy suggesting that Douglas Luiz’s Juventus teammate, Andrea Cambiaso has admirers at the club.

Some reports have gone as far as to suggest that Manchester City could be willing to sanction a huge investment on the 24-year-old full-back this month, however sources at the club have insisted he is more of a player to assess in the summer window.

Speculation around Manchester City and their own full-back roles have intensified in recent weeks, both in the way of arrivals and departures after Kyle Walker submitted a request to leave the club with AC Milan closing in on an agreement in the coming days.