Guardiola hints at Man City defender signing in January

Matt Stead

Pep Guardiola has suggested that Manchester City will look to sign a defender in the January transfer window.

City continued their remarkable start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Leicester on Saturday, with Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne among the goals.

But they were dealt a bitter blow when John Stones was substituted with an apparent hamstring injury, and initial fears suggest he could miss the rest of the year.

After the game, Guardiola stated that City will look into the possibility of bolstering his defensive ranks in the winter.

“We’re going to discuss when January is coming,” Guardiola said.

“We are going to think about it, but not because John is in that position.

“To play in all the competitions, you need a bigger squad because the players don’t have time for regeneration before the next game.”

On Vincent Kompany, who made his first appearance since August at the weekend, Guardiola added: “Of course, we have to take care of him, we are trying to do that.

“He has missed more than two months and a half. We have to be careful in terms of how many minutes, how he feels because he out for two months and a half, and we miss him.

“It’s a risk to play him more and more, but now John Stones is out, we have a real, real problem in that position.”