Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has insisted that he will not "push" the hierarchy at the club for January transfers, but admitted that they "need something" to help take some of the load ahead of the FA Cup clash with Burnley.
If it doesn't happen, we will move forward
Guardiola has made big changes in his two seasons which has certainly seen him open the cash flow especially in the summer, nearly spending £250million on a hosts of signings including breaking world-record's for Ederson and Benjamin Mendy.
Despite such a substantial amount Guardiola has hinted that he would be looking to dive back into funds, with The Citizens reportedly interested in signing Real Sociedad defender Iñigo Martínez.
City's dominance in all four competitions has seen more wear and tear in terms of injuries in the last few weeks, and ahead of the clash with Sean Dyche's side he stated that they might "need something" in terms of recruits but insists that he will not "push" for them.
"In Barcelona, in Bayern Munich, here, I never push," Guardiola told his pre-match press conference. "The clubs I work with always try to do their best and sometimes it is possible, sometimes not."
"But it is not a big problem," the Catalan coach proclaimed. "I said many times we are working now for this month, but for the future, for the next seasons."
"If it happens, it happens. If not, I will work with the players I have," he admitted. "The toughest period to buy players is now, because everybody wants to keep their players, so it is not easy."
"We do believe we need something, because we have four competitions," Guardiola added. "If it doesn't happen, we will move forward with the players we have."
Try and play the best team possible
City's need for more bodies has come with having picked up injuries over the past few week with the pile-up of festive fixtures, but were majorly boosted by the return of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva in the 3-1 win over Watford.
However they are still yet to learn the full of extent of Gabriel Jesus' medial collateral ligament injury suffered in the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, Guardiola confirmed that Vicent Kompany would be absent and also stated his uncertainty about Silva's availability after he took compassionate leave at his own discretion after the premature birth of his baby boy but insisted that he would field the "best team" possible.
“Vincent is not available,” he confirmed. “Gabriel is not available, Mendy is not available, Phil Foden is not."
“I don’t know if David will be. We have a training session at 4pm. We will see," the coach stated on Silva's availability. “It is not easy for me to explain what he [Silva] feels. He made a statement, explaining what happened. I prefer not to talk about that."
“He shows on the pitch he is able to forget everything. He decides if he wants to stay or go back home," Guardiola concluded. "We are going to try to play the best team as possible."