Scouting for Pellegrini: 3 defenders Manchester City should look to sign this January

Manchester City’s captain Vincent Kompany

Who is the solution for Manchester City’s defensive woes?

With captain Vincent Kompany being ruled out for two months due to a thigh injury along with Golkeeper Joe Hart having an entire loss of form, Manchester City’s defensive problems are certainly up the hill. The Citizens under new manager Manuel Pellegrini are currently eighth on the table and are six points behind league leaders Arsenal in their quest for the Premier League Title aspirations. While the City defence has quite come under the scanner for leaking goals more than often, the mega rich Blues from Manchester are desperate to resolve their defensive woes as quickly as possible. In order to address their needs at the back here are three solutions for City come this January Transfer Window.

Kyrkiakos Papadopoulos (Schalke):

Perhaps an extremely solid centre back with a no nonsense clearing skills might just be the order of the day for City at this juncture and going into the extremely tricky second half of the campaign. This is where the 21 year old Greek youngster who has frightening jaws might just be the solution of Pellegrini’s frowns. Papadopoulos has attracted the Premier League clubs over the last year with Liverpool and Arsenal showing their interest for the Greek. Unfortunately he hasn’t played since last November, which somehow curtails his match fitness, but he is due to come back by December and who knows, he might be snapped up to play in the Premier League.

Eliaquim Mangala (Porto):

If there is something in which Porto is a master at, it has to be their business model. They were perhaps the pioneers of getting cheap Latin American players, and selling them at exorbitant prices earning huge profits. The player in fray this January has to be Eliaquim Mangala, the French sturdy, imposing centre back of Congolese descent. He has the physique to overcome the demands of the English Premier League and would be a wonderful addition to the Citizens squad. Moreover he is brilliant at retaining possession, something which would be very helpful as City have hardly created goal-scoring opportunities playing out from the back.

Pepe (Real Madrid):

An imposing presence in the centre of the park with a beast like attitude, Pepe might feel he has fallen down the ranks at Bernabeu with the emergence of Rapahel Varane and Sergio Ramos playing in the centre back role. The Portuguese might perhaps to hone his skills in the Premier League and might be tempted to move out of his Real Madrid contract if an offer at all is tabled by the Citizens come January.