Man City's 2025 January transfer wishlist

Manchester City have not bought a first-team player during the January transfer window since Aymeric Laporte's arrival in 2018.

Pep Guardiola was building from a position of strength at the time, boasting a 12-point lead at the Premier League summit as they cantered towards the first and so far only centurion campaign in English football history. The setting could not be more different this year.

Locked in the worst crisis of his managerial career, Guardiola has revealed that City may be forced to dip into the January market.

"We're not a big fan of that [window] but the circumstances of this season have been special," Guardiola fretted before watching his side lose again against Aston Villa. "We've spoken about doing something."

Here's what that something could be.

Rodri's stock has soared since he limped off injured against Arsenal / Michael Regan/GettyImages

There is little a fully fit Rodri could have done over the last three months to earn the same level of acclaim that has been thrust his way while Manchester City have spiralled violently out of control in his absence.

When the Ballon d'Or winner limped off midway through Arsenal's trip to the Etihad in September, City were leading 1-0 and top of the live Premier League table.

Over the subsequent 12 league games, the defending champions have slipped to seventh place and shipped 20 top-flight goals. The season has not even reached its halfway mark yet and City have already committed more errors leading to shots than they did in three of the last four complete campaigns.

Ilkay Gundogan has only hypothetically returned from his one-year sabbatical in Barcelona while Mateo Kovacic - the closest thing Guardiola had to a Rodri replacement - has been mired by injuries of his own.

Potential targets

City have reportedly drawn up a five-man midfield shortlist. Top of the candidates may very well be Martin Zubimendi. The slight orchestrator at the base of Real Sociedad's midfield was the man Luis de la Fuente chose to fill the void left by Rodri's half-time substitution in the final of Euro 2024.

While Zubimendi doesn't have the same towering physical profile as his compatriot, he does boast an ease in possession and clear understanding of the game. There was a reason Liverpool spent so much of last summer chasing after him.

There are no doubts about the physical capacity of Ederson. The Brazilian midfielder covers the ground of two ordinary players from the heart of Atalanta's all-action engine room. Blessed with a brain as powerful as his other muscles, Ederson seems to improve with every day spent under the watchful eye of Gian Piero Gasperini.

If City are in search of a Premier League-proven talent, they could opt for Bruno Guimaraes. Newcastle United's talismanic vice-captain has a long-running rivalry with Rodri, but would do an admirable job filling in for the Spaniard and could easily play alongside him once he returns to the pitch. All City would have to do is stump up £100m.

Full-back

Josko Gvardiol has not been at his best in recent weeks / James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages

City's injury crisis may have claimed their best midfielder, but that fitness misfortune has also ravaged the backline. Matheus Nunes had to be awkwardly shoehorned into a left-back role for December's Manchester derby - and duly gave away a boneheaded penalty - after Guardiola was left with just three fit defenders. Ruben Dias has subsequently been forced into an increasingly crowded treatment room.

While a declining Kyle Walker lives up to his surname on the right-hand side of City's backline, Guardiola has been searching for a natural left-back for years.

The reigning champions are in desperate need of any vaguely defensive-minded figure after shipping two or more goals in seven consecutive games between the end of October and start of December. The last time City suffered such a porous run was 1963, when they conceded 102 league goals and got relegated.

Potential targets

The role of a full-back in a Guardiola team may be the most complex position in football. Suitable candidates have to boast the craft of a midfielder and the nous of defender. Miguel Gutierrez is one of the few players with a keen appreciation for the demands of this hybrid role.

The former Real Madrid academy graduate has thrived for Girona as an inverted left-back under Michel. As one of the teams under the City Football Group's umbrella of influence, Gutierrez's manager has access to the exact coaching drills which Guardiola sketches up in Manchester. That CFG link will also grease the wheels of any transfer negotiations.

In recent years, Guardiola has increasingly valued physicality as well as finesse in his defenders. Barcelona's Jules Kounde and David Hancko of Feyenoord both offer a unique balance of gusto and guile having operated as centre-backs and full-backs.

Manchester City never replaced Julian Alvarez / Pedro Salado/GettyImages

When Julian Alvarez forced through an eye-watering £81.5m move to Atletico Madrid over the summer, Guardiola hinted that City would secure a replacement for the World Cup winner in the remaining days of the transfer window. A 33-year-old Gundogan was the only player to arrive.

The captain of City's treble-winning team has been a shadow of his former self this season, standing out for his struggles in a side which is putting up form worthy of relegation fodder.

Kevin De Bruyne has scarcely been spotted this term and Phil Foden may as well have sat out himself. The reigning Premier League Player of the Year didn't score his first league goal of the current season until 21 December, registering a consolation in defeat to Aston Villa with his 30th attempt of the campaign.

Potential targets

City have been optimistically linked with Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz, but the prolific German prodigy won't be going anywhere in January for anything less than nine digits. Even then, Leverkusen could simply refuse to lose their best player mid-season.

Omar Marmoush may not have the same hype of Wirtz, but the Egypt international has racked up the same number of Bundesliga assists (seven) and scored almost twice as many league goals (13) as the sought-after playmaker this season. The record-breaking Eintracht Frankfurt forward has been repeatedly linked with Liverpool this term, yet would surely be interested in an advance from the reigning Premier League champions.

Nico Paz's modest tally of two goals and three assists has to be put into perspective. The Real Madrid academy graduate is operating at the epicentre of Cesc Fabregas' newly promoted Como, pulling the strings with an enchanting, almost lackadaisical style.

A City side which increasingly looks too terrified to try anything audacious for fear of the repercussions - only to make a blunder while playing it safe - could do with Paz's sense of adventure.

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