Guardiola unlikely to do business in January

Cape Town - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is not expected to spend any money in January despite the club announcing record turnover of £535.2 million.

The Manchester City boss has been linked with signing a central defender when the transfer window opens in January, with reports a £100m-plus offer is being prepared for Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Premier League champions now stand only behind rivals Manchester United in the English financial cash stakes, with suggestions their recently penned £650m, 10-year shirt deal with German firm Puma will see them actually overtake them next year.

City sources, however, are insistent that Guardiola currently has no plans to draft in a new face unless they fall further behind leaders Liverpool in the table having slipped nine points back with their 3-1 loss at Anfield before the international break.

It's understood director of football Txiki Begiristain would like to do a deal next summer for Leicester City and England left-back Ben Chilwell, with Foxes having made it clear they won't even contemplate business before the end of the season.

City remains confident that central defender Aymeric Laporte will also be back playing again early in the new year, having sustained a knee ligament injury back in early September.

There is certainly money available for Guardiola to spend, should he ask for it, although City would first need to free up a foreign spot in their Premier League squad by moving a player out.

Reports in Germany suggest Bayern Munich may try their luck again with a reduced £90m offer for injured City winger Leroy Sane, so that could be one solution to Guardiola eventually splashing the cash.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak stated upon the release of the impressive figures that investment both on and off the pitch will continue.

The Abu Dhabi powerbroker said in the club's annual statement: "Our organisation is now at a level of maturity that enables us to plan on multi-year cycles, both in terms of management of squads and more widely across the business.

"This strategic planning has allowed us to create an environment in which continued on-pitch success is both possible and likely, and financial sustainability is a reality."

- TeamTalk Media