Will Man City star’s injury force Guardiola’s hand in January?

What do you do when your £22m summer signing gets ruled out for the rest of the season? You go out and by someone else in January.

At least, that’s what Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will look at doing next month, after it was confirmed Ilkay Gundogan would face ‘several months’ out following an injury picked up in City’s 2-0 win against Watford earlier this week.

The two-time Premier League champions were expected to chase defensive reinforcements when the transfer window re-opens.

And while that’s still the plan at the Etihad, after a poor start to the campaign in terms of goals conceded, Pep may now have to budget for a central-midfielder to replace the former Borussia Dortmund man.

They’re big boots to fill, too. The Germany international has already scored three Premier League goals, and contributed one assist since arriving in the north-west back in the summer.

Yaya Toure has featured a lot more than we expected him to, after he publicly apologised to Guardiola last month. But it’s unlikely the Spanish boss will entrust the 33-year-old with a starting position in the engine room every week.

We won’t have to wait long to watch developments unfold at the Etihad. But who do fans want to see brought in?

Should Pep’s main priority be to strengthen his defence, or does he now have to look at replacing Gundogan for the second-half of the season as they push on for the title?

Have your say in the comments section below!

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