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Manchester City are ready to make a move for Real Sociedad central defender Inigo Martinez in the January window, according to The Sun.
Manager Pep Guardiola is keen to add depth to his options at centre back, with John Stones currently out injured, continued uncertainty over Vincent Kompany’s fitness, and doubts as to whether Eliaquim Mangala has sufficient quality to play in the Premier League.
Martinez is one of the most highly rated central defenders in Spain and was reportedly close to a move to Barcelona last summer. From a City perspective, he is relatively cheap, with a buy-out clause in his current contract of £28.5 million, which is dwarfed by the amount £75 million that rivals Liverpool have just spent on Virgil van Dyke.
Guardiola is reported to have a transfer budget of £50 million to spend in the current window, and, if he does make a move for Martinez that will still leave funds available to make another move to capture Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez who remains heavily linked with a move to City.
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.