caughtoffside
·3 December 2024
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·3 December 2024
Man City and Pep Guardiola are in an unprecedented position as the Premier League champions have lost their last four games in the competition, which has left a lot of questions ahead of the January transfer window.
The Manchester outfit were beaten convincingly on Sunday by title rivals Liverpool and the setback at Anfield has left Guardiola’s men in fifth position in the standings, 11 points behind the Reds.
Winning a fifth Premier League crown in a row looks very difficult for Man City, but their season can still be a successful one if key issues are addressed ahead of the second half of the campaign.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday ahead of Man City’s next Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, Guardiola offered the media some insight into the approach that the Manchester club will take towards signings heading into the January transfer window.
“We will talk internally about what is the best in January,” Guardiola told reporters via City Xtra. “It depends on the position and the situation that we are in at that moment.”
Pep Guardiola has problems at Man City. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Many pundits and fans have pointed towards the absence of Rodri as to why Man City have struggled so much this season given the Spaniard’s importance to the Premier League champions.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a double knee injury during City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September and the absence of Mateo Kovacic has made this situation even worse.
The midfield of Man City has been a big problem for Guardiola as the legendary coach has yet to find a solution to the absence of Rodri. The former Barcelona boss tried to play Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva as a duo against Liverpool on Sunday, only for the Reds to deal with them very easily – with the 53-year-old showing signs that the pressure was getting to him.
A new signing may help the Premier League champions in January, with City recently being linked to Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, but only time will tell if the Manchester club go down that route.