Fabrizio Romano provides ‘100%’ confirmation on Manchester City transfer rumour

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has seemingly brought an end to Manchester City fans’ hopes of welcoming a new midfielder to the Etihad Stadium this month.

City officials are currently in the process of finalising the future of wantaway defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips during the ongoing window, with the England international seeking improved opportunities for the second-half of the campaign.

While there is little doubt about the desires of Phillips, there is uncertainty over just how much Manchester City want to bring in a replacement for the former Leeds United man, especially with options few and far between.

One name that has cropped up in recent days is that of Joshua Kimmich at Bayern Munich, and given the history between Pep Guardiola and the Germany international, it has come as little surprise to many to read of potential interest from the Etihad Stadium.

However, excitement from the part of some Manchester City supporters on social media has this week been cut short following a fresh update on the chances of a Kimmich transfer this month, irrespective of his contractual uncertainty in Germany.

Writing in his Daily Briefing, Fabrizio Romano has stated that reported Manchester City transfer target Kimmich will ‘100% stay’ at Bayern Munich during the ongoing January transfer window.

“There have been stories about Manchester City as Joshua Kimmich nears the final year of his contract at Bayern Munich, but what I can say is he is 100% staying at Bayern in January,” Romano detailed on Monday.

He continued, “All clubs are now busy with transfers for January rather than contract extensions, so we will see in the next months… but in January nothing will happen for Kimmich.”

Pep Guardiola could yet turn to existing options this season when needing stand-ins for mainstay defensive midfielder Rodrigo, with the likes of Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, and John Stones all standing in at various times this season.

Mahamadou Susoho is another name that has appeared in first-team matchday squads in recent weeks having excelled at Academy level, while fellow midfield talent Jacob Wright received his first-team debut on Sunday afternoon in the FA Cup against Huddersfield.