“We are not able” – Pep Guardiola details Manchester City’s rejection of Chelsea transfer approach during January market | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has detailed the reasons why the club opted to turn down the transfer interest of Chelsea in rising midfield talent, Nico O’Reilly.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who has been the subject of widespread praise throughout the course of the ongoing season, was at the centre of ambitious and somewhat surprising transfer interest from the Stamford Bridge club during the opening window of 2025.

It was widely reported and understood at the time that the West London club were prepared to pay an ‘important’ transfer fee for the latest star academy graduate of Manchester City, who in turn requested a buy-back clause or matching rights in any deal.

City officials are believed to have learned their lessons from selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea in 2023 without any future interests in the player in a straight £40 million deal, and as such took a firmer stance on Nico O’Reilly.

With Chelsea unwilling to succumb to Manchester City’s demands in opening conversations between the two clubs towards the end of the January window, no such deal would come to fruition and O’Reilly remained at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola revealed that City simply need the services of their versatile midfielder throughout the remainder of the season due to the problems they are facing with injuries.

“We had a lot of problems with injuries and still we have a lot of problems,” Guardiola told reporters when quizzed on Chelsea’s interest in O’Reilly. “So we are not able to loan or sell players right now.”

The Manchester City manager continued, “So that’s why we need Nico and all the players, (James) Macca, Divin (Mubama), and many players that we have, we need all of them because still there are a lot of games and we need them.”

Since the closing of the January window and Nico O’Reilly remaining in place at the Etihad Stadium, he has already made a start for the club as he continued his role of left-back in the FA Cup so far this season.

Following on from his first-ever Manchester City goal and outing at left-back in an 8-0 win over Salford City in the FA Cup third round, the same tactic was deployed in last weekend’s 1-2 comeback win over Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road.