Manchester City will reportedly hold a board meeting this weekend with club chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak ready to give the green light to a new defensive signing.
That’s according to The Guardian, who claim that Pep Guardiola will be given significant transfer funds to sign a new defender following Vincent Kompany’s latest injury setback.
The Belgian international established himself as a leader for City and one of the finest centre-halves in Europe, but his constant injury problems have now tested Guardiola’s patience one too many times.
As noted in the report, Kompany has now suffered a staggering 35 separate injury setbacks in his eight years at the Etihad Stadium, and his latest knee injury is expected to sideline him for a month at least.
Guardiola splashed out in the summer to take John Stones to Manchester, and while in an ideal world he would have had the former Everton man partner Kompany on a regular basis, it appears as though he’ll now have to rethink those plans.
It’s added that the Spanish tactician is unconvinced by Nicolas Otamendi while Aleksandar Kolarov isn’t the long-term solution despite being asked to play in the middle this season.
While the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has tried to experiment with different systems and personnel, ultimately it comes down to needing two solid centre backs to form the foundation of his side’s success.
Stones still has significant improvements to make to his game, particularly from a defensive perspective, but if Kompany can’t be relied upon, then Guardiola needs to act in the January transfer window and solve his defensive woes once and for all.