Manchester City\u2019s reaction to an underwhelming 2024\u201325 campaign produced major activity in last summer\u2019s transfer market. With the 2025\/26 season expected to see City contest all four major trophies, with particular focus on the Premier League and Champions League, there are still specific squad areas that merit attention.<\/p>\n
A large January overhaul is unlikely. Guardiola prefers a compact squad and City did not pursue a raft of winter signings, yet last season\u2019s hectic January window showed the club is prepared to invest mid-season when necessary. Any moves in January will therefore be surgical rather than sweeping.<\/p>\n
Right back remains a clear concern after the sudden decline of Kyle Walker. At present City\u2019s options are Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes and Abdukodir Khusanov, the latter a central defender by trade. Nunes appears to be Guardiola\u2019s preferred option, but he still does not seem entirely comfortable in the role. If City are to return to the summit of English and European football, there is an argument they require an elite-level right back, a profile that is scarce at present.<\/p>\n
Tino Livramento was monitored over the summer and was widely touted as a possible solution, but Newcastle United made it clear he was not for sale. The ex-Chelsea star would be an excellent, albeit expensive, addition and his ability to operate at left back adds versatility, though his consistent injury issues would be a concern.<\/p>\n
For a younger profile, Sporting CP\u2019s Iv\u00e1n Fresneda and Feyenoord\u2019s Givairo Read represent alternatives who could be tracked closely.<\/p>\n
The holding midfield is another area for reinforcement. Rodri\u2019s return at the end of last season and at the FIFA Club World Cup after a nasty ACL injury was a boost, but this term he has been hit by regular setbacks that have limited his appearances in the Premier League and Champions League. Rodri cannot be relied upon to play week in and week out, and Nico Gonz\u00e1lez, his replacement, while offering decent defensive protection and a mastery of the tactical foul, provides very little in possession and is not yet at the level of peak Rodri.<\/p>\n
Midfield targets mentioned in relation to City include Nottingham Forest\u2019s Elliot Anderson, Brighton & Hove Albion\u2019s Carlos Baleba and Crystal Palace\u2019s Adam Wharton. Guardiola has often waxed lyrical about Bruno Guimar\u00e3es; the Brazil star would be exceptional but would break the bank and be extremely difficult to prise from Newcastle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
City face January choices on right back and holding midfield as they chase Premier League and Champions League glory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1056,1163],"tags":[216,853,215],"class_list":["post-5369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-man-city","category-transfers","tag-adam-wharton","tag-bruno-guimaraes","tag-carlos-baleba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}