What signings do Manchester City need to make in the January transfer window?

Nicholas Hughes

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 6 min read

Manchester City have overcome a difficult start to their Premier League season to get back on track in their effort to regain the league title and finally lift the Champions League.

In their quest to achieve world domination this season and beyond, who could City sign to make their side even better than it already is?

Defence

The weakest area of the team remains quite clearly at full-back, in particular on the left hand side with Benjamin Mendy consistently unfit and Oleksandr Zinchenko not a left-back by trade.

Joao Cancelo has slotted in quite nicely, but as a naturally right-sided player he would surely be even more impactful on his more comfortable side.

Former Man City left-back Angelino has excelled on loan at RB Leipzig and Guardiola may wish to bring the Spaniard back into the fold.

David Alaba has been linked with a Premier League switch as his contract stand-off at Bayern Munich continues, while Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico was a name linked during the summer that City might decide to return to.

Midfield

The question for Man City’s midfield is how on earth do you improve a midfield with Kevin De Bruyne in it?

The Belgian revealed he is in preliminary talks surrounding a new contract at the club while the likes of Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan remain key members of the side.

Phil Foden has seen an increased role after the departure of David Silva, whose namesake Bernardo continues to be an option in the middle of the pitch with his versatility.

Jack Grealish has reportedly been identified as a target for Guardiola’s men after a stellar beginning to the campaign with Aston Villa. The Englishman serves as a naturally creative replacement for Silva and offers versatility to play across the front three.

Overall, midfield isn’t really an area that City ought to prioritise in January, although a signing or two in the summer could be likely with Fernandinho aging.

Attack

This is an interesting area for Man City who for so long have enjoyed the riches Sergio Aguero’s goalscoring ability, but it seems that era may well be coming to an end.

Particularly in this hectic season, the Argentine is struggling for fitness and has played just three times in all competitions.

Gabriel Jesus has struggled for consistency throughout his time at the club and has his own fitness issues, leaving Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres to fill in at centre forward during this season.

Odsonne Edouard is lighting it up at Celtic and appears on the brink of a big move while Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez is a player Guardiola has had his eye on for some time.

There is still the possibility of Lionel Messi joining the club next season which makes it all the more intriguing, and if there is a serious chance of that happening a big move in January for an attacker would certainly be ruled out.

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Conclusion

Even harder than getting to the top is staying there for a sustained period of time, and the trouble for Manchester City is how do they strengthen an already incredible squad in order to remain at the top of the game.

With over a month remaining until the window opens, it will be interesting to see where City sit in the league when January 1 does actually come around.

The 10^th place they currently occupy sounds a lot worse than it is in reality with the game in hand, but if they remain some way off the top of the league then they could be tempted to dip into their pockets again.

There are areas the side can and will ultimately need to get better in at some stage, but whether or not any of those moves will happen in January remains to be seen.