Maybe I should have made summer signings - Guardiola - Voice of Asia

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has indicated that he might have made a mistake by advising the club to forgo player acquisitions last summer. Currently, Manchester City is planning to bring in new players when the transfer window opens this month, in an effort to prevent the team's current slump from worsening.

Since signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57 million in 2018, Manchester City has not made any major acquisitions in the winter transfer market. Currently, Manchester City has agreed to pay a transfer fee of £33.6 million to sign Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, with the Uzbekistan international’s arrival imminent.

Guardiola is also hoping to bring in Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, while also monitoring Palmeiras’ young defender, Vito Reis. Meanwhile, veteran full-back Kyle Walker has also been given permission to explore opportunities to play abroad.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League match against Brentford, Guardiola stated, "In the summer, the club considered making signings, but I said, 'No, I don’t want to sign anyone.' I had so much faith in these players, thinking I could do it again. However, after the injuries, I realized that perhaps we should have made some signings.”

Guardiola believes that injuries are the main reason why the team has currently fallen to sixth place in the Premier League, been eliminated from the League Cup, and only finished second in their Champions League group. According to data from [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/), Manchester City has suffered 15 injuries lasting two weeks or more this season, with the most significant impact being the season-ending injury to Ballon d'Or winner Rodri.

Defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias will both miss the match against Brentford, and Guardiola is also considering whether he should field Walker. He added, "We knew at the start of the season that we had many players over 30 in the squad. Sooner or later, we would have to make changes. But, five or six months ago, they had just won the Premier League title, achieved a quadruple, and reached the FA Cup final and the Champions League quarter-finals. I didn't expect so many injuries."