5 Possible Left-Back Options for Manchester City in January

Manchester City appear to be set at left-back with Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy, but each man carries some negatives on his respective C.V.

Kolarov is presently injured, and as a result he will be hard-pressed to equal the 30 Premier League appearances he made with City last season en route to signing a new three-year deal this past summer.

Clichy has played very well in Kolarov's absence, which came as a surprise to many since his shaky form last season pushed him into a platoon with Kolarov where Clichy received far less playing time. Clichy is under contract for another two years after this one, but City have shown the ability to move players when the need arises.

City could go one of two ways should they choose to replace Kolarov or Clichy. They could try to shave some more payroll by acquiring a cheaper replacement, or they could celebrate their recent financial news by returning to their free-spending ways.

Here are five possible left-back options for City in the upcoming transfer window.

Fabio Coentrao

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If you are going to dream, dream big.

Fabio Coentrao would be a significant upgrade over what City have at left-back, but the cost is prohibitive.

"Coentrao, who joined Real (Madrid) for £28 million in 2011, is out of contract in June 2018 and the Spanish club are thought to be keen on forcing through a deal while his value is at its peak," noted Alex Harris for the Daily Star.

Harris also observed that, while Manchester United would love to have Coentrao, they are bitten and shy after the outlay they made for Luke Shaw.

Along with United, Juventus and City's upcoming Champions League opponent AS Roma are thought to be in the bidding for Coentrao.

City are not believed to be interested, but it seems apparent that Coentrao is on the move.

Alex Sandro

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City have not been shy about raiding Porto.

Manchester City signed both Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala from Porto this past summer. Might they come back to Porto for one more player in January?

"Sandro came to the Portugese club via Brazilian club Santos and has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the top flight," observed Simon Bajkowski for the Manchester Evening News.

Bajkowski was too polite to note that neither Mangala nor Fernando has exactly taken the Premier League by storm thus far.

I'm not, though.

Alvaro Pereira

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Manuel Pellegrini does love his left-backs to be able to start a break.

Manchester City are not presently in on Inter Milan left-back Alvaro Pereira, but Tottenham Hotspur sure seem to be.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Ben Jefferson at The Express), "two years ago Pereira hailed his 'dream' move to Inter, but things have not worked out as planned, and the former Cluj star would welcome a move to White Hart Lane."

Jefferson also wrote that "according to Gazzetta dello Sport a deal to bring Pereira to Spurs is all-but-agreed."

Serious question: Has Pereira, like, ever seen Spurs play?

Ricardo Rodriguez

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Rodriguez would be another young player for City to build their future with.

Wolfsburg reportedly do not much want to sell Ricardo Rodriguez in January, but we have all heard "no" turn to "yes" in the transfer window when the big satchels of cash hit the table.

"The left-back arrived in the Bundesliga in 2012 and has since been heavily linked with a high-profile move to the Premier League," wrote David Wright for the Express in October.

The same piece noted that Rodriguez is under contract with Wolfsburg through June of 2016, so arguably Wolfsburg really would need to be bowled over by an offer to move this player.

Georgi Schennikov

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Schennikov looked pretty capable against Aguero.

No less a defensive power than Chelsea were heavily after Georgi Schennikov this past summer. Manchester City supporters, who saw plenty of Schennikov in the Champions League this season, already know how Chelsea's pursuit ended.

Back in June, Metro (h/t Krishnan R Iyer of the International Business Times) reported that Chelsea were "ready to start negotiations with CSKA Moscow for the transfer of Georgi Schennikov during the summer transfer window"

Iyer also summarized Schennikov's credentials, noting that "Schennikov has established himself as one of the key players in the CSKA's starting XI since making his debut in 2009. The Russian international played a vital role in the last two seasons as Leonid Slutsky's side successfully defended their Russian Premier League title."

Yeah, you're right, Schennikov is probably not going anywhere any time soon.