Manchester City are supposedly prepared to back Pep Guardiola with a £100m transfer warchest in the January transfer window.
The Citizens endured a quiet summer on the incomings front, only making one new acquisition in the shape of Savinho, who has already made a positive impact at the Etihad during his short time there.
While the Brazilian winger was the only 'new' face to arrive, the Citizens unexpectedly lured Ilkay Gundogan back to Manchester on a short-term contract, just one year after his departure for Barcelona.
Meanwhile, all of Julian Alvarez, Joao Cancelo, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tommy Doyle and Sergio Gomez left on permanent deals, while Yan Couto, Kalvin Phillips, Issa Kabore and Maximo Perrone went out on loan.
Despite ending the summer window with five fewer players in their ranks, the reigning Premier League champions have already assumed first place in the table with a perfect nine points from their opening three matches against West Ham United, Ipswich Town and Chelsea.
City to target two German stars in January?
![Germany's Florian Wirtz celebrates scoring their first goal on June 14, 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/24/florian-wirtz_1.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Germany's Florian Wirtz celebrates scoring their first goal on June 14, 2024 [IMAGO]")
© Imago
Furthermore, the club-record sale of Alvarez and sizeable fees for Cancelo and Harwood-Bellis means that City made a healthy profit in the summer window, which could now hugely benefit their winter activity.
According to The Sun, City chiefs will allow Guardiola to spend up to £100m in the January transfer window should the ex-Barcelona coach identify any areas which need bolstering midway through the season.
The Premier League champions have supposedly set their sights on signing two German talents in the January window, the first one being Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, whom they have had their eye on for some time.
The 21-year-old conjured up 18 goals and 20 assists in 49 games during Leverkusen's astonishing 2023-24 season, and he already has two goals and one assist under his belt from two top-flight games this season.
As well as Wirtz, Man City are also rumoured to be going after Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala, whose future has been a hot-button topic ahead of the expiry of his contract at the Allianz Arena in 2026.
© Imago
Either Musiala or Wirtz could fill the void left by Kevin De Bruyne's possible exit, as the Belgium international has not penned a contract extension beyond 2025 and is a target for the Saudi Pro League.
Could City realistically sign Wirtz, Musiala in January?
Musiala did not close the door on a future exit from Bayern when questioned over the international break, while also insisting that he is currently happy in Munich, but the report adds that winter moves for either him or Wirtz are highly unlikely.
Even if Man City did make a January approach for either man, they would likely be quoted more than £100m by both clubs, and they are therefore expected to wait until the summer before accelerating their pursuit.
Instead, the Citizens hierarchy are supposedly prioritising talks with De Bruyne and Rodri over new contracts in the run-up to Christmas, as the latter is apparently a target for Real Madrid.
Should the Premier League champions lose the Spaniard to Los Blancos next year, they could reportedly battle Liverpool to sign a highly-rated 20-year-old as his replacement.
Ben Knapton
