Manchester City News Roundup: Guardiola comments on Eric Garcia, club reject loan advances for defender, and more - 29th January 2021

Premier League leaders Manchester City will hope to extend their lead at the top of the table when they face bottom club Sheffield United on Saturday.

On that note, let’s take a look at the latest Manchester City news from the 29th of January, 2021:

---

Pep Guardiola refuses to get drawn into the Eric Garcia transfer saga

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that as long as Eric Garcia is with the club, he will not speak about the player’s exit.

Eric Garcia has been linked heavily with a move away from Manchester City, with Barcelona and PSG looking to sign the Spaniard.

The centre-back’s contract with Manchester City expires in the summer, and Barcelona wanted to sign him in January. However, the postponement of the club's presidential elections means that Garcia's transfer is unlikely to happen this month.

Guardiola refused to discuss Garcia's Manchester City exit, when he said in this regard:

“I don’t want to take any more about this issue. The market closes soon, and for now he is our footballer. And an exceptional boy. Nothing else.”

Man City boss Pep Guardiola tells Barcelona that Eric Garcia is 'our player' | @Jack_Gaughan https://t.co/5sSOQyM9vi

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) January 29, 2021

Ruben Dias is the reason behind Manchester City's revival: Former club defender

Former Manchester City defender Richard Dunne feels Ruben Dias’ impact at the club can be compared to that of Virgil van Dijk's at Liverpool.

Manchester City spent a lot of money to sign Ruben Dias last summer; after a slow start, the Portuguese has transformed the Citizens’ defence.

City have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League this season and are currently a point clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

Dunne said of Dias’ impact:

“City didn’t want another ball-playing centre-back; they needed a central defender who could defend, who had that mentality of keeping a clean sheet, keeping his focus on doing that and leaving it to the attacking players to score. It’s not far off what Liverpool did with Virgil van Dijk. Once they got Van Dijk in, everything else seemed to just work well.”

John Stones and Ruben Dias starting together at CB:11 clean sheets in 12 games 🤝 pic.twitter.com/K6bi0Qv5gC

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 26, 2021

Manchester City not willing to loan out young defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis

The Athletic’s Sam Lee has revealed that Manchester City have rejected loan offers for their young centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Harwood-Bellis is currently behind the quartet of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nathan Ake. City, however, want to keep Bellis, considering their congested fixture list this season.

The Citizens fear a few injuries might become disruptive if they don’t have options like Harwood-Bellis and have thus rejected loan offers from clubs in the lower divisions.