Pep Guardiola says he will not be splashing out in January for a defender to revive Manchester City’s faltering Premier League title hopes. City have gone seven games without a clean sheet, which Guardiola said was not “good enough” and the club have been linked with Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu. But he played down the idea of buying a center-back when the transfer window re-opens next month.
Pep Guardiola said ” No. I don’t want any players in January. If we cannot do it in summer, we cannot do in January. When they come for an incredible opportunity in January for the next four, five, six years, maybe we could think about it, but that is not possible. “Normally the players we could think it would be interesting to add something for our squad, they are not going to sell. Fernandinho is not the reason why we win or lose. When we beat Chelsea, everyone said how fantastic Fernandinho was. When we don’t win it’s because of Fernandinho. It will be my decision. I like him in that position because of the build-up for the fast, for the long balls, many things.”
It’s no secret Manchester City have had a defensive issue for some time. Ever since the partnership between Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott was broken up in 2012, the club hasn’t been able to get a unit that has looked consistently solid—aside from a short spell where Martin Demichelis overcame his poor form and worked well alongside the captain in 2014. The likes of John Stones, Matija Nastasic, Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi have all been brought in but City’s defence is still looking it’s weakest link in the entire play.
