Manchester City Transfer Rumours: Bid for Ivan Rakitic Being Lined Up in January

Manchester City's season has turned around in a big way since the last international break. They've won seven matches in a row across all competitions—five Premier League encounters as well as wins over Bayern Munich and Roma.

Now into the knockout stages of the Champions League for a second year running, City's squad is looking as strong as they have all season. However, a series of injuries have left them bereft of options at times, meaning a look to the transfer market may be necessary in a couple weeks' time.

One name that has been linked with a move to the Etihad is Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

The Croatian only joined Barcelona in the summer in a move that saw former City youngster Denis Suarez sent on loan to Sevilla. However, Anthony Chapman of the Daily Express has reported that both Manuel Pellegrini's side and local rivals Manchester United are mulling bids of £20 million for the 26-year-old.

City's iffy midfield depth might be a reason to look further into this.

Frank Lampard's loan deal from New York City FC ends later this month, though an extension of that deal is looking more and more likely. As Pellegrini stated after the recent win over Leicester City, the club is "very happy with him and we hope he can continue with us."

Yaya Toure will miss much of January due to the Africa Cup of Nations. He is also suspended for the first leg against the Catalan giants after a three-match ban for his sending off against CSKA Moscow. That leaves Fernando and Fernandinho to shoulder much of the load in the middle of the park.

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Rakitic's creative abilities would complement this duo nicely, sitting in front of one or both of them and dictating play. However, Rakitic being cup-tied to Barcelona would make that a moot point, leaving him ineligible to face what would now be his former team.

Outside of European play, though, can Pellegrini fit both players into his usual formation? Once Toure returns from international duty, could Rakitic be played further forward to allow for the usual Toure-Brazilian midfield? How would the rest of the setup be altered?

It's asking far too many questions without providing enough of a clear answer.

At a time when City will be entering a tough second half of the season with a title chase, Champions League aspirations plus an FA Cup tie or two to contend with, this is not the time to be experimenting.

Of course, City have far more pressing needs that may or may not need addressing.

Notably, the striking situation will likely continue to be an issue. Both Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic have gone through a laundry list of injury spells, with the Argentine's latest expected to keep him out several weeks. As such, attacking options are at a premium, leaving that as the top area of concern in January.

Additionally, some shoring up of the defensive ranks may be in order. James Cambridge at the Daily Express cited Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund as a possible transfer target.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

The BVB skipper, still just 26, could be on his way out of the Bundesliga strugglers. Dortmund won't want to call it quits on their season just yet though, with a relegation battle and their own European dreams still alive.

Plus, the £47 million fee noted seems exorbitant, especially considering Chapman quoted a £32 million bid being mulled by Arsenal not two months ago. This is up from the £26 million mooted by Charles Perrin at the same paper in July.

When you consider that City shelled out upwards of £30 million on Eliaquim Mangala in the summer, the idea that the Etihad brass might try to top that in the winter is strange. But it's a massive area of need, with just three top options, two of which have proven inconsistent at times.

In any case, both of these areas are of more immediate concern than the midfield areas that would be covered by Rakitic.

Should the Croatian, as noted in Chapman's report, continue to be "unhappy at playing second-fiddle" to Xavi and want to leave in the summer, perhaps then City will look in his direction. Until then, though, Pellegrini, Txiki Begiristain and others are better suited looking elsewhere to bolster their squad.

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