Manchester City do not intend to make a major signing in the January transfer window, unlike many of their rivals.
News that Liverpool will not be “splashing the cash” this January makes its way onto a number of back pages on Monday, with Jurgen Klopp adamant that his club will not further strengthen this month.
It helps the Anfield club, of course, that they have just spent £36m to snap up Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo before the January transfer window had even opened. It could easily be argued outside of Merseyside that the only reason more cash will not be splashed imminently is because Liverpool have only just forked out a significant sum on top of the guaranteed £64m and potential £85m that they spent in summer to sign Darwin Nunez in the same attack.
Whatever the semantics, Liverpool’s signing has to be seen as a statement of intent. At a time when the team have struggled to hit the heights of recent seasons and with the club facing key departures off the field, snapping up Gakpo without a protracted chase or bidding war is a sign that they still mean business and are intent on strengthening when necessary even if it comes in the usually quiet January window.
Also read: Where City stand on incomings and outgoings in January transfer window
Liverpool are by no means alone. League leaders Arsenal are trying to get a deal over the line for Mykhaylo Mudryk, a 21-year-old forward valued at £85m by Shakhtar; Erik ten Hag has made it clear his resurgent United side want to strengthen this month; Chelsea have agreed a £35m deal for a defender and are also pursuing Benfica and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
All this activity from City’s rivals does not mean they need to react by following them into the January window. The Blues did more business than they would usually do to refresh the squad in summer, do not tend to sign first-team players at this time of year, and are not swayed by the actions of other clubs.
However, it shows Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain the competition that they are up against in England. Whatever some managers might insist, the financial might stretches well beyond the one or two teams that is common in every other European league.
Numerous people are obviously eager to invest a significant amount of money this month since they are sufficiently motivated by what they could accomplish this season with reinforcements. Even though City is still convinced that their current team can carry them to victory and accomplish their objectives, they must acknowledge that if they are to succeed, they will need to defeat improved versions of the competitors they faced in the first half of the season.
Guardiola and his team will embrace the challenge, but it is still a more tough task than they may have anticipated at the start of the season.
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