Manchester City are expected to reverse their normal ways and look to enter a busy period in the transfer market, but they do not want one of Pep Guardiola's core stars to leave the club.
Txiki Begiristain's final stint as sporting director will be busier than the Basque could have imagined when he confirmed to the Premier League champions that he would be leaving at the end of the season.
That call was made in October – Sporting's Hugo Viana was quickly appointed as his successor and began a concrete transfer process from February – when City were still unbeaten in all competitions.
What followed, two wins in fourteen matches, has accelerated the planned rebuilding of an aging team, the majority of whom have admirers elsewhere.
Captain Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson are the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, while question marks remain over Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish. James McAtee remains a popular player across Europe and Kevin De Bruyne has entered the final six months of his contract.
However, City want to keep the core of Guardiola's team together for now and expand that group rather than swapping in and out over the next four weeks. Even though a number of pillars have underperformed.
Sales would, one suspects, arise from a player expressing his desperation to leave and the money offered being subsequently deemed appropriate. In that respect, not much will change in how City operates.
But there is money available to spend – as evidenced by healthy reports published a few weeks ago – and sources told Mail Sport last month that Begiristain and Guardiola were keen to address three or four areas of concern – mainly central midfield, back and forward . .
Frankfurt's Omar Marmoush, who has scored 18 goals in 24 games so far this season, is well-liked and offers versatility by featuring anywhere in the front line. City are not the only team in England to have exerted control over the Egyptian. And Atalanta's energetic Brazilian international Ederson is also an interesting player.
Both are 25 years old and entering their prime, which is something of a change in City's thinking. The more notable signings are generally younger and have been developed as projects under Guardiola: Savinho, Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol, the three great examples of the past two summers.
Nunes and Mateo Kovacic, signed in 2023, had significantly more experience so abandoned that idea, but were originally seen as complementing what City already boasted in midfield.
The Premier League champions understand that buying the right goals will not be an easy task in the middle of a campaign.
Looking specifically at Marmoush and Ederson's situation, Atalanta are aiming to win Serie A for the first time in their history and Frankfurt are keen to secure a place in next year's Champions League. It would prove a bitter pill to swallow if they lost their radiant light at this stage.
It could be tough work but while Guardiola prefers a smaller squad, he accepts he needs more numbers to fall back on given the injury crisis which should not be overlooked when dissecting his worst form as manager.
Fifteen of the squad have had at least one fitness problem this season – Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva are the only five to remain injury-free.
It has resulted in City missing a total of 86 league matches due to injuries so far. That will increase even further when they face West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Rodri and Oscar Bobb account for 34 of that number, with the latter hoping to rejoin the group this month. Even if we ignore that pair when calculating the amounts, Guardiola is missing an average of four players per league match throughout the year.
That doesn't take into account the countless times players have been asked to play when they are only half-fit and certainly not matching sharply in the past three months in a seemingly endless cycle.
“People played too many games,” De Bruyne reflected this week. “But they have to do it because when you don't have anyone else, you have to play. They have taken on the burden, hopefully people will come back and we will get back into the rhythm as a team.”
Guardiola has admitted that any new faces will serve to at least freshen things up and that's both for morale, which has understandably fallen, and for some respite for 34-year-old Gundogan, Silva, Haaland or Lewis, who are running himself into the ground.
The chance of winning injury roulette increases as more balls whiz around the table. Therefore, in City's eyes, they cannot contemplate letting many – if any – leave, regardless of their individual form.
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