Manchester City put long-term Arsenal target on their radar

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is concerned about the state of his midfield and could dip into the January transfer window with Sporting midfielder William Carvalho a potential target, reports Bleacher Report.

The Citizens have made an alarming decline in recent months and appear to have now gone backwards under Pep Guardiola after dropping out of the top four following their 4-0 humbling away to Everton on Sunday.

Guardiola has been forced to deploy right-back Pablo Zabaleta in central midfield on a number of occasions in recent matches with Ilkay Gundogan out for the remainder of the season and Fernandinho currently serving his second suspension of the season.

Yaya Toure has only been re-integrated back into the first-team since November and is not the long-term solution for City any more, leading to Guardiola to ponder a January move for a new midfielder.

Carvalho, who was an important member of Portugal’s Euro 2016 winning squad, has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in recent years and was also a target for West Brom this month before they failed to conclude a deal.

Bringing the 24-year-old to the Premier League will not be straightforward for City and a summer move is more likely at this stage of the season, but he is on Guardiola’s radar after becoming an admirer of his athleticism and skill on the ball.

Carvalho has won possession in the midfield third more times than any other player in the Portuguese Liga NOS this season (100), while he has also completed the most passes in the league (1149)

For more stats on William Carvalho, click here to visit his WhoScored player page