Man City to move for confirmed Liverpool target in January after Guardiola transfer demand

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly chosen Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi as the signing who can ‘fix’ his ‘crisis’ at the Etihad.

The Cityzens have won just one of their last six Premier League games and have dropped to fourth in the table, eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

The absence of Rodri has certainly had a detrimental impact on their season and as previously reported, Man City could sign a new defensive midfielder in January to cover for him.

Spain international Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or at the end of October, picked up a serious knee injury against Arsenal on September 22 and was ruled out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

According to reports from Spain, as cited by Football365, Guardiola has chosen Real Sociedad’s Zubimendi as the ‘signing to fix City’s crisis’ after ‘asking for reinforcements in January’.

Their recent run of uncharacteristic poor form ‘has set off alarm bells at the Premier League champions’ and Guardiola ‘has not been able to hide how much he is missing Rodri.’

Now, it’s claimed that the manager will look to restore balance by signing ‘one of the most outstanding midfielders in LaLiga’ and ‘City are already working on a strategy to sign Zubimendi.’

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Man City want new midfielder in January

Man City will face competition for Zubimendi if they choose to make a move for him next month. As we have consistently reported, Liverpool and Arsenal are huge admirers of the 25-year-old too.

Liverpool had agreed to match his €60million (£50.1m, $66.7m) release clause in the summer, but he chose to reject the move to Anfield and stay in LaLiga.

The Reds haven’t given up on a deal for Zubimendi and are preparing to ‘fight’ with Arsenal for his signature. Real Sociedad aren’t willing to sell him for anything less than his clause and Liverpool and Arsenal are reportedly willing to match it next month.

Man City will therefore have to do the same if they want to sign Zubimendi in January. With that in mind, we could see three Premier League giants battling for his signature next month.

He isn’t the only player on Man City’s shortlist, with Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton also admired by the Cityzens’ recruitment chiefs.

However, Crystal Palace are very reluctant to sell Wharton, especially in the middle of a relegation battle, so Man City may have to wait until next summer to get the England international.

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