Guardiola pushes the button: mighty Eagle enters City's January plans

Manchester City have entered the race for Marc Guehi. And they may have no time to lose.

Pep Guardiola's defensive crisis has opened the door to a January move for the Crystal Palace captain, with injuries piling up at the Etihad. Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias both limped off in the draw with Chelsea, John Stones remains sidelined, and Nathan Ake cannot be relied upon to play week in, week out. City are stretched. Alarmingly so.

Against that backdrop, Guehi's name has moved rapidly up City's shortlist.

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BBC Sport reports that the champions are actively exploring a deal for the England centre-back and that a winter move cannot be ruled out. Everything now hinges on the medical verdicts for Dias and Gvardiol - but the interest is real and advancing.

Guehi, 25, is out of contract after the end of the season and has no shortage of suitors.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter and Atletico are all circling, while Liverpool came within hours of signing him for £35m before Palace pulled the plug. The Reds remain keen, but City's injury emergency could force their hand.

Palace, for their part, face an uncomfortable reality: sell their captain now or risk losing him for nothing in June. With regulations allowing Guehi to negotiate a pre-contract with foreign clubs from this month, January may be their last chance to cash in.

City have already reacted by recalling young defender Max Alleyne from his Watford loan, a clear sign of the strain Guardiola is under.

"It doesn't look good," the Spaniard admitted after Chelsea. "We have a lot of injuries. We will have to find a solution."

That solution may well be Marc Guehi. And it may arrive sooner than expected.

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