Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk

Manchester City are reportedly eager to improve their defensive options in January, but with top targets Leonardo Bonucci and Aymeric Laporte likely unavailable, they could be set to pursue Southampton's Jose Fonte or Virgil van Dijk.

That's according to the Sun's Carl Long, who reported manager Pep Guardiola "will scour the world in a bid to shore up his leaky defence" but is unlikely to land Juventus star Bonucci or Athletic Bilbao's Laporte in January. As such, he could be drawn closer to home in search of a new centre-back.

City have conceded 19 Premier League goals this season—including seven in their last two games—and failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches.

As ESPN's Mark Ogden noted during City's 4-2 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday, summer signing John Stones has struggled of late:

In contrast, Southampton have allowed 15 goals this season and recorded clean sheets in three of their last four games.

Van Dijk in particular has stood out for Claude Puel's side. Football writer Liam Canning has been hugely impressed by the Dutchman this season, while Bleacher Report UK's Sam Tighe hailed his efforts in the UEFA Europa League after he helped Southampton beat Inter Milan:

Fonte has also been an excellent defender for Southampton since joining the club in 2010. He's helped the Saints earn promotion from League One and the Championship to the Premier League, where he has made more than 150 appearances.

Nevertheless, Soccer Saturday's Phil Thompson caused controversy when he argued the Portugal defender—who won UEFA Euro 2016 with his country earlier in the year—was better than Van Dijk:

The stats would certainly oppose Thompson's view, per Squawka:

	Fonte	Van Dijk
Apps	14	15
Minutes	1,260	1,350
Tackles	16	21
Aerial Duels	32	68
Interceptions	30	41
Blocks	7	12
Clearances	81	108
Passes	754	708
Forward Passes	573	581
Pass Completion	84%	84%

The 25-year-old Van Dijk is the younger and stronger option of the two, but that will make him far more difficult to land in January.

Fonte turns 33 on December 22 and would only be a short-term solution to City's defensive woes, but he'd be far more attainable because of it.

He is still a solid and experienced Premier League defender, though, so he might still be worth pursuing to keep the Sky Blues solid at the back until a marquee defender can be brought in next summer.