Pep Guardiola confirms mass exodus at Manchester City when January transfer opens 

Pep Guardiola confirms mass exodus at Manchester City when January transfer opens

Manchester City cannot find a way out of their slump as the January transfer window prepares to open.

 

Manchester City will look for a new midfielder in January – but the perfect player probably doesn’t exist.

Manchester City have tried everything to get out of their crisis, but the blows keep coming and the morale is only getting worse inside the dressing room.

 

With the January transfer window opening in three days, pressing the big red button to delve back into the winter window might be the only way out of the rut.

 

Pep Guardiola has insisted City are playing well for most of their wretched run of one win in 13, but they have failed to do the two most important things: score at one end and keep it out at the other.

 

Every time they look to take a step forward out of the spiralling crisis, there is a new injury, or another mistake, or some other setback. With each one, fate chips a little more confidence away.

 

“Of course, there are some days where you are low and low in energy,” admitted goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in a concerning admission that reveals the fragility of the collective mindset in the City dressing room.

 

“Everyone here in this club is trying to turn it around,” Ortega continued. “When you play for a club like Manchester City there is pressure every week – this is not new for us. The situation of getting results is a bit different than to usual.”

 

“Everyone is frustrated. You have two options – give up or try to continue and keep going which is what we’re doing right now. No one is missing a chance on purpose. It’s just the reality right now. We’re trying to turn it around, score more goals and defend better.”

 

As Rico Lewis pointed out last week, the time for talking is over and City must show what they are made of on the pitch with the players they have left. As much as injuries are the root cause of the rut, City have long passed the point where they can keep blaming who isn’t there and instead focus on who is.

 

There may be reinforcements in January, then. City are actively looking for new blood to help their stretched squad, although it is hardly an easy market to enter and Guardiola referenced that after Everton when he said players will be signed for the long-term rather than to simply solve a short-term problem this season.

 

That means the perfect midfielder to instantly tie the central areas together and free up the restrained attackers is almost certainly not going to arrive. Even if that player did exist, they would firstly cost a huge amount of money and secondly have to be comfortable rescuing City this season before reverting to Rodri’s back-up in 2025/26.

 

It would be like asking Batman to save the city(!) before taking the role of Robin next season.

 

Rodri’s own experiences show it is not as simple as dropping into the number six position and doing everything Pep Guardiola wants immediately. Rodri took a season to get going, Mateo Kovacic still needs a partner, and Kalvin Phillips never got it.

 

That City won’t sign Martin Zubimendi or Bruno Guimaraes – the two most eligible midfielders on the market – suggests they have taken a look and have quickly assessed how tricky January will be.

 

Maybe the solution to get around the future problem when Rodri gets back is not to target a Rodri replacement at all. Perhaps an Ilkay Gundogan replacement would be wiser – someone who can partner Kovacic but also get up to number eight and number ten.

 

Kevin De Bruyne wants to wait until he is fully fit to begin contract talks yet at this rate that time will never come. A ‘new Gundogan’ could also help the transition to life after De Bruyne as well as boosting the defensive midfield options.

 

So City need someone who can cover Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne. They need that midfielder to be available, able to hit the ground running but also someone who can contribute for years to come. And they need him to be affordable.

 

The reality is that finding someone to fit that brief is no easy feat, if that player exists at all. Anyone expecting January to solve all of City’s problems might need to reign in their New Year hopes.

 

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