Manchester City to give La Liga club “long and hard winter” in pursuit of 26-year-old central midfielder | OneFootball

A chase from the Premier League champions in one of Europe’s best midfielders is going to prove to be a huge challenge during the winter window, it is claimed.

Manchester City are likely to intensify their search for recruitment during the winter market as they continue to battle a growing list of injury problems within Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad.

The main problem facing the Catalan coach is the long-term absence of Rodri, after the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was ruled out for the remainder of the ongoing season with a double knee injury requiring surgery in early October.

Despite the 28-year-old insisting that he intends to return to action for Manchester City this season, any involvement would likely only come at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States following the conclusion of the European schedule.

As such, Manchester City recruitment chiefs are likely to assess the market for possible options to satisfy Pep Guardiola’s needs in the middle of the park, with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi being one name widely tipped as a solution.

According to the information of Cope in Spain, who this week cover City’s interest in Sociedad’s Zubimendi, the midfielder’s €60 million release clause is ‘not an obstacle’ for interested parties including the Premier League champions.

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A number of journalists are also credited with their own insight on the situation surrounding the 26-year-old, with Cope Gipuzkoa’s head of football Marco Antonio Sande making clear that offers for the midfielder will arrive during the January transfer window.

It is further claimed that City in particular could consider dealing only with the player, as he explained, “Those clubs considering signing Zubimendi are not going to deal with Real, they are going to deal directly with the player,” as translated and relayed by Sport Witness.

As per journalist Ander Iturralde, Zubimendi would not rule out an approach from Manchester City in January as he continued, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they came to sign him in the winter market,” before claiming that Real Sociedad will face difficulties retaining the talent.

The final journalist to offer insight is Giovanni Batista, who claims that the Etihad Stadium’s interest in Martin Zubimendi will not be ‘diluted easily’ and that Manchester City are “going to give us a long and hard winter”, he added.

(Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images)

For now until the reopening of the transfer market, Pep Guardiola will continue to turn to his existing options within the first-team squad, with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic operating most frequently in the deep-lying midfield position.

The 53-year-old has also experienced varying degrees of success through Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, and John Stones operating in the position, but the inconsistent fitness levels and availability of the latter pairing has meant neither has been able to hold down the role.

Manchester City will return to action following the international break with a Premier League meeting against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium, with the hosts hoping to end their four-game losing run across competitions.