“Txiki said NO” – Pep Guardiola reveals Man City discussion on signing new left-back in January

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed the details of a brief discussion he had with the club over the possibility of signing a new left-back last month.

City sanctioned the exit of Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich on deadline day, with the Portugal international making the move to Germany on an initial six-month loan deal with the Bundesliga giants having a €70 million option to buy this summer.

That departure leaves Manchester City with one less option in the left-back role for the remainder of the season, with Nathan Ake considered first-choice based on recent starting XIs, and the likes of Sergio Gomez, Aymeric Laporte, and Rico Lewis considered as back-ups.

Some fans had called for City to make a late move in the transfer window to ensure that they got a natural left-back through the door, at whatever cost, with Fulham and USA international Antonee Robinson deemed as one potential option.

Asked whether Manchester City had discussed the possibility of signing a new left-back during the January transfer window, Pep Guardiola admitted, “We talked (about it), but it took three minutes.”

“I said, ‘Do you have something?’ Txiki (Begiristain – Manchester City’s Director of Football) said no. I said wait.”

Guardiola continued, “We could go into the market and pay a huge amount of money (in January). I prefer to wait a few months until the end of the season. We can do without. In the summer, we will see.”

One name that was discussed as a possible option for Manchester City was Tottenham’s deadline day signing Pedro Porro – whom the London club signed from Sporting on initial loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer.

City are understood to have held a favourable buy-back clause on the Spain international – a player that they had sold to the Portuguese giants last summer in a deal rumoured to be in the region of €8.5 million

On Porro, Pep Guardiola said on Friday afternoon, “(He is) Perfect to play in a five at the back. Last season, we suffered when we played against Sporting. This season, Tottenham against Sporting, a good signing for Spurs.”

But did Manchester City consider activating their buy-back clause on the player. Pep Guardiola revealed, “No. He was on the list, but we didn’t think about the buy-back (clause). He decided to go to Spurs.”

Manchester City are set to travel to the capital on Saturday evening, as they gear up for their Sunday afternoon clash with Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.

City know that between now and the end of the season, anything other than a win in their remaining Premier League fixtures could be hugely detrimental towards their hopes of cutting down the gap between themselves and Arsenal at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad currently hold a five-point gap over City, having played one game less than Pep Guardiola’s side. However, both teams are yet to meet in the Premier League this season, with the first of those meetings coming at the Emirates Stadium later this month.