Manchester City Crisis Could Force Transfer Strategy Rethink

With five defeats in the last six games, a three-goal lead thrown away in 15 minutes, and already eight points behind in the title race, Manchester City is on its worst run under Pep Guardiola.

The title race might not be over, and Manchester City’s ability to steamroller teams in the second half of the season means that few are writing Guardiola’s men off just yet, but there are suggestions that the last six results are more than just a blip.

Even if City recovers this season, it looks like this current generation of players is coming to an end and that an overhaul is needed.

But will that overhaul come in January?

Recent results might cause Manchester City to hit the panic button, but such a move would go completely against the club’s strategy during Pep Guardiola’s time as head coach.

Since joining Manchester City in 2016-17, Pep Guardiola has avoided using the January transfer window as a short-term fix.

Only two January signings from 2016-17 onward have played more than 20 minutes in the season they were signed. Both of those players were signed in Pep’s first two seasons when he was still molding Manchester City in his style.

Gabriel Jesus was the first, joining from Palmeiras in January 2016. He played 651 Premier League minutes that season, getting seven goals and four assists. Jesus probably would’ve played more if he hadn’t picked up a metatarsal injury in March a few games into his City career.

The next season, Pep looked to strengthen his backline in January by signing Aymeric Laporte from Bilbao’s Athletic Club in what was City’s most expensive signing at the time. Laporte made 13 appearances that season, playing the full 90 minutes in almost all of them as City romped to the Premier League title.

Since then though, most of Manchester City’s transfer business has been in the summer window.

The few winter signings City has made have generally been young prospects who were loaned back to the selling club for six months.

The only January signing to have any real impact for Manchester City since 2018 was Julian Alvarez, who was signed from River Plate in January 2022 but didn’t actually arrive in Manchester until the summer.

That all could change this winter though.

Rodri’s long-term injury has exposed the weaknesses in Manchester City’s midfield and defense. Every game he doesn’t play shows why he won the Ballon d’Or. Real Madrid could probably be successful without Vinicius Junior, but City has fallen apart without Rodri.

With key midfielders Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva all the wrong side of their peak years, City will need to rebuild its midfield at some point.

In hindsight, it is probably something that should have been done last summer by signing a younger player rather than resigning Gundogan. The current bad run of form could see Manchester City speed up that rebuild by signing a player this winter to go straight into the first team, with Real Sociedad’s Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi a possible target.

Manchester City’s strategy of avoiding winter signings is a smart one. They are often overpriced, and without a full pre-season, it is hard for players to make an instant impact. But the crisis caused by Rodri’s injury and a lack of proper planning means this winter, that strategy may need scrapping.