The Premier League champions started their defence in superb form but suffered an astonishing collapse in November and December, winning once in nine league games before finally ending 2024 with a win against Leicester City.
Manchester City are used to more under manager Pep Guardiola. Two wins out of two makes far better reading but there’s little doubt City will have a keen interest in the January transfer market in an effort to salvage something from the season.
According to reports, they’re set to act sooner rather than later and plan to bring in three players to reignite their campaign.
Manchester City are expected to spend in January
City’s issues have been well documented throughout the autumn and winter months, leading to the widely held expectation that they’ll be active in the transfer market. With injuries biting, City’s reported interest in two defenders and a forward seems to hold some water.
Reporting from BBC Sport indicates that the Premier League champions have targeted 20-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov of Lens and Palmeiras teenager Vitor Reis to add to Guardiola’s defensive strength, while Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush is also being tracked.
Khusanov is an Uzbekistan international central defender who’s started 11 times in Ligue 1 in his second season with Lens. He joined the club from Belarusian outfit Energetik-BGU, a Minsk club who’ve been relegated in consecutive seasons since his departure.
18-year-old Reis joined Palmeiras from Robinho’s academy in 2016 and has made himself a feature of the first team since his debut last year. Another central defender, he’s expected to fetch a fee in the region of £33.5 million and has been linked already with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion, according to BBC Sport.
Marmoush, a versatile attacking option playing primarily as a centre forward, is by far the most established of City’s three targets. The 25-year-old will cost a sizeable fee if he’s to be prised out of Frankfurt, where his contract runs until the end of the 2026-27 season.
The Egyptian is in terrific form in the German Bundesliga this season. He’s scored 13 goals in 15 games. Only Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has scored more, and Marmoush also has eight assists to his name according to Transfermarkt.
A reported possible fee of £50 million would be par for the course for City, who are said to be in the market for a forward option. Erling Haaland is as good as it gets but City remain keen to replace Julian Alvarez, who left for Atletico Madrid last summer.
City have work to do to get anything useful from this season but their electric start has allowed them to remain in the top six. They’re just two points outside the top four and 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
They’re not a lost cause by any means. Strengthening in January could really shake things up at the top of the table.
