Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is already lining up some January transfer business and has reached an agreement in principle with one target, according to reports.
What's the latest news involving Manchester City?
The Blues take on West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday as they look to maintain their perfect start to the new Premier League campaign; however, boss Guardiola has delivered a disappointing injury update ahead of the clash.
Speaking to the official Manchester City website, the Spaniard confirmed that Jack Grealish, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic will all be absent for the trip to east London, stating: "They are both Injured (Grealish & Stones). They aren’t able for tomorrow. I don’t know (how long for) – I don't think they will be ready for Red Star, but we will see, step by step. The injury for Jack is not muscular, but he has an incredible knock on his knee. Still the damage is there. John is still a little better, but has a disturbance in his muscles."
He then added on Kovacic: "It is something muscular, and not a big issue but he’ll be out for tomorrow." In more positive news, veteran defender Kyle Walker has committed his future to Manchester City by signing a new deal that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2026, as per BBC Sport.
England international Walker attracted interest from German giants Bayern Munich in the summer; however, he has now chosen to stay in Manchester and expressed his delight at being able to clarify his future, as he stated: "I'm thrilled to sign a new deal. My future is with Manchester City and that is the best thing for me."
Manchester City have confirmed their 25-man squad for the Premier League this term and have left the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Rico Lewis off the list; nevertheless, all are 21 or under and don't need to be registered to participate in English top-flight matches, as per The Manchester Evening News.
Who have Man City reached an agreement for?
Journalist German Garcia Grova has issued an update on the state of play involving Boca Juniors full-back Valentin Barco on social media platform X, stating: "Manchester City reached an agreement in principle with Valentin Barco. Emissaries from the team will travel to (Argentina) to reach an understanding with Boca to sign the 19-year-old golden boy."
In 2023, 19-year-old Barco has made 18 appearances across all competitions for Boca Juniors, registering one goal and two assists in the process, as per Transfermarkt.
Labelled "technically very good" by Boca Juniors legend Juan Roman Riquelme, Barco has shown his propensity to get stuck in this term, winning around 1.7 challenges per match in the Liga Profesional, according to WhoScored.
The Daily Star reported last week that Argentina Under-20 international Barco has a release clause in the region of £8million that Manchester City would be willing to pay upfront, which would potentially represent a major bargain at the Etihad Stadium that would provide Guardiola with a long-term left-back solution.