THE £65M SOLUTION: WHY ANTOINE SEMENYO IS PEP GUARDIOLA’S TOP JANUARY PRIORITY
Manchester City target Antoine Semenyo for £65m to boost their title charge. Read the latest on Marc Guehi and potential exits.
Manchester City are a couple of points behind Arsenal right now, and the January transfer window could be their chance to shake things up.
January's almost here, so expect loads of rumours when the winter transfer window opens. Last January, Pep Guardiola's team dropped £180 million, which is the most they've ever spent in a winter window.
So, what could Man City do in January?
New Players
The city's doing well in both the Premier League and Champions League, so their squad's in pretty good shape. Still, Pep Guardiola keeps saying they need to get better, which suggests they might still bring in some new faces in January. They're already being linked to one big move.
Antoine Semenyo's been on fire this season, catching the eye of big clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United. His old coach even said Antoine could play anywhere he wants. Even so, City seems to be leading the pack to sign the Ghanaian. Even though he just signed a new contract back in July, he could be available for £65 million next month.
With eight goals and three assists already, the 25-year-old is near the top of the list for Premier League goals and assists. Only Erling Haaland and Phil Foden have scored more than three times for Guardiola's team in the league, and Semenyo would definitely give them another goal threat at the Etihad.
Besides Semenyo, it's not clear who else City might go after this winter. They're interested in long-term targets like Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong. But those deals probably won't happen next month.
Marc Guehi is another name that's been mentioned with a move to City. The England player was close to joining Liverpool in the summer, but that deal fell apart. The centre-back's contract with Crystal Palace is up in the summer, and a bunch of top clubs want to sign him for free. City's one of those clubs and might try to get a deal done in January if Palace decides to sell him.
Players Leaving
A few City players might want to leave this winter, especially with the 2026 World Cup coming up. If Semenyo joins, that would almost definitely mean one of Oscar Bobb, Savinho, or Omar Marmoush leaving.
Bobb hasn't been getting much playing time, only playing 13 league minutes in the last couple of months. He hasn't really impressed when he's had the chance to play. The winger hasn't scored any goals and only has one assist, which was on the first day of the season. The 22-year-old might look for more playing time elsewhere, and Crystal Palace is supposedly interested.
Savinho also hasn't started many games across all competitions. He was almost on his way to Tottenham for £70 million in the summer. But the 21-year-old ended up staying at the Etihad, extending his contract until 2031. Guardiola recently said, "He will become a top, top-class player." But with another winger coming in, he might start looking at other options again. Spurs will probably be interested again.
Marmoush just arrived in Manchester last January, but he might already be on his way out. It's clear he's got talent, but it's not clear where he fits in Guardiola's team. Haaland's the main striker, and it seems like other players are preferred out wide and in the number ten position. A knee injury hasn't helped his start to the season, and he hasn't started in the league since August. Clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham would be interested in Marmoush if he becomes available.
Besides the attackers, a few defenders might also leave the Etihad next month. Nathan Aké has been with City for almost five years now. But he's not a regular starter in Guardiola's back four anymore. With the World Cup coming up, playing time will be important for the Dutchman. He's only started one league game so far this season, so he'll probably look at other options in January. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have both been linked to the 30-year-old.
A goalkeeper might also be on his way out next month. James Trafford arrived in the summer but quickly lost his spot when Gianluigi Donnarumma was signed. Despite that, Guardiola has told the incredible goalkeeper to stay here next month. Stefan Ortega might still leave, since he's fallen further down the list.
MANCHESTER CITY CONDEMN RACIST ABUSE OF STARS SEMENYO AND GUEHI
Following swift stadium action, Manchester City pledge full support to Semenyo and Guéhi amid shocking discriminatory abuse.
Manchester City didn’t hold back after Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi faced racist abuse during and after their wild 3-3 draw with Everton. The game itself was a rollercoaster; City managed to scrape a point thanks to Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku, who nailed a jaw-dropping equaliser in the 96th minute.
Doku actually got City off to a great start, putting them up before halftime. But Everton flipped the script after the break, scoring three and having everyone on edge with ten minutes left. City defender Guehi made a costly error on Everton’s first goal, his misjudged back pass handing the ball to Thierno Barry, who didn’t think twice about putting it away.
Since then, City put out a statement confirming that Guehi was targeted with disgusting racist messages online, while Semenyo, who played most of the match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, endured abuse in the stadium itself. City’s statement was straightforward: they’re outraged by the abuse and thanked Everton and the police for acting fast to identify the person responsible. They made it clear they're sticking by Guehi and Semenyo and won’t tolerate discrimination in football.
Right after the game, Guehi posted on social media, owning up to his mistake but keeping his head up. He thanked City fans and leaned on his faith, writing, “I need to do better, but we keep going & focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always! Thank you, Jesus!”
Racism in football keeps getting worse, on and off the pitch, and there’s a growing call for authorities to actually step up and fight discriminatory abuse wherever it shows up.
Both Guehi and Semenyo have made an immediate impact at City. Guehi came from Crystal Palace in January for £20 million, fitting right into Guardiola’s defence and looking sharp until Monday’s mishap. He’s already played 16 times for City. Semenyo arrived from Bournemouth for £64 million, has 22 appearances, and has made himself a regular threat, scoring eight goals with three assists, moving smoothly between central and wide positions.
They’re both expected to be in the lineup when City faces Brentford at home on Saturday as Guardiola’s team hangs onto their faint hopes of defending the title.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
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