5 Transfer Options for Manchester City to consider this January

This is a guest post from Matthew Harris.

When you’re one of the richest clubs in the world and you’ve recently spent over £100m on two players it’s hard to imagine you’d be back in the transfer market six months later. But nevertheless, Manchester City could be ready to flex their muscles again in January as they start to slip down in the title markets.

Here are five players that City have been linked with in recent weeks.

Ousmane Dembele – Rennes

The French winger has been attracting attention from Europe’s top clubs despite only signing his first professional contract with Rennes this summer. The 18 year-old attacker has represented the French national team at U17, U18 and U19 level and has long been touted as world class player in the making.

Dembele scored 13 goals in 22 appearances for Rennes B team last season and scored on his full debut for the club at the weekend.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid are all reportedly monitoring the situation and City could be persuaded to make a move in the January window.

Kelechi Nwakali

Another youngster that is on the radar at Manchester City is the Nigerian wonder kid Kelechi Nwakali. The 16 year-old shot to prominence in the recent U17 World Cup in Chile. Nwakali showed maturity beyond his years as Nigeria lived up to the hype of pre-tournament favourites.

As well as lifting the trophy, Nwakali won the best player award and a move to Manchester City looks on the cards. His brother, Chidi, has already been snapped up by City (although he is currently of loan to Girona), so it would be no surprise to see Kelechi follow suit and sign for the sky blues.

Grzegorz Krychowiak – Sevilla

The Sevilla number four has improved with every passing season and could be set for a big money move to the Premier League. The Polish defensive midfielder capped off an impressive debut season in Spain by lifting the UEFA Europa League as well as being the only Sevilla player to be named in the La Liga team of the year.

Krychowiak has over 20 caps for his country and would be a considerable upgrade on Fernando should City decide to sign the 25 year-old Polish international. Pellegrini and Manchester City will have to act quickly though as Arsenal would also appear to be in the market for a top class defensive midfielder after Coquelin’s injury at the weekend. And given City’s capitulation against Liverpool, Krychowiak could be the perfect signing that gels all of the attacking talent at the Etihad together.

Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich

But perhaps one of the more ambitious targets would be Robert Lewandowski. The 27 year-old goal machine has been in unstoppable form for Bayern Munich this season as the Bavarian club sweep aside all comers. Lewandowski scored an incredible 10 goals in a seven day period earlier in this campaign and has 19 goals in 19 games in all competition.

There is no doubting it, Robert Lewandowski is the most feared striker in European football right now and Manchester City, regardless of the forwards they already have at the club, would love to sign such a seasoned striker as Lewandowski.

It’s hard to envisage why the Bayern number 9 would want to leave the Pep Guardiola inspired side but if there is one club that can afford him it’s definitely Manchester City.

Michy Batshuayi – Marseille

Meanwhile, the 22 year-old Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi could be the next Belgian to join the ranks at the Etihad. Batshuayi has exploded into life this season with 10 goals and three assists to his name this season and could spark a bidding war between Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester City themselves.

However, there are two caveats that could prevent a move in the January window. The first one being the striker’s eagerness to stay in France for the foreseeable future and secondly, do City really need to break the bank on another attack minded player when their immediate concerns must lie with their defensive options?

This is a guest post from Matthew Harris.