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Despite their record-breaking start and eleven point lead in the Premier League, manager Pep Guardiola has still managed to convince the Board at Manchester City that the club needs to buy new players in January, with defensive reinforcements top of the shopping list.
With injuries to John Stone and Vincent Kompany, a new centre half is on the agenda, along with a replacement left-back, where Benjamin Mendy is a long-term absentee.
One potential recruit is Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, who has also previously been linked with a move to Liverpool, although City believed the £60 million valuation of the player is far too high. An alternative is 26-year old Inigo Martinez who currently plays for La Liga side Real Sociedad.
In terms of left-back, City were interested in Napoli’s Faouzi Gholam before injury saw him miss several months of the season. Ghoulam has since signed a new long-term contract with the Italian side, so the side from The Etihad will have to turn their attentions elsewhere.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.