Pep Guardiola drops Antoine Semenyo hint and outlines Manchester City’s January plans | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to rule out new signings in the January transfer window amid an interest in Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.

City are a leading contender to sign the 25-year-old Ghana international, who is available for £65 million next month and has clubs across England and abroad on alert, with Manchester United battling their city rivals for the winger.

Guardiola’s side have been overly reliant on Erling Haaland to produce the goods in front of goal this season, underpinned by the Norwegian scoring 25 times in 23 games in all competitions for the Blues so far this term.

The jury remains out on whether a Manchester City side in a nascent stage of their transition under director of football Hugo Viana can challenge Premier League leaders Arsenal all the way for the title, with Guardiola and co two points adrift of the Gunners heading into Christmas.

City extended their winning run to seven games in all competitions at the weekend as a brace from Erling Haaland and Tijjani Reijnders’ first goal at the Etihad Stadium sealed a comfortable 3-0 triumph over West Ham.

The Blues face Nottingham Forest and Sunderland away from home in their next two Premier League games, though Guardiola, his staff and the Manchester City squad are expected to take their foot off the gas a little and enjoy the festive period in the midst of their on-pitch commitments in the next 10 days.

Guardiola has the chance to plug certain loopholes in his squad next month, with Manchester City interested in adding depth to their frontline and assessing the prospect of activating Semenyo’s £65 million release clause at Bournemouth.

City are understood to have made direct contact with the forward’s representatives as it remains to be seen whether Viana will follow that interest up with a formal approach, with Manchester United capitalising on recent speculation over Guardiola’s future at the Etihad Stadium to make their case to Semenyo.

Speaking to the press after Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday, Guardiola was asked whether he is expecting the club to be active in the January transfer market to keep him motivated in his job as he enters the final 18 months of his current deal.

“Listen, last season what happened in the transfer window (when City spent £181.5 million on four new signings) was for just one reason – we have (had) no players,” Guardiola said.

“Old players and no players, old players and no players. And you have to, you know, for the next years, new vibes, new energy – that was the reason why. But I’m not a big, big, big, big fan for the (January) transfer window.

“Always you have to be open, you never know what happens, and it’s possible that the club decides it’s good for now and for the next three, four, five, six years – why not? But it’s better to, you know, at the end of the season to see what happened this season, how it was. It’s much better.”

Guardiola has refused to rule out an addition or two to his current group in January as it remains to be seen if the absences of Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush – owing to injury and the Africa Cup of Nations respectively – will be enough to convince Viana to give Guardiola greater ammunition to work with in the second half of the campaign.