Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Ryan Bertrand, Faouzi Ghoulam Rumours

Manchester City will reportedly prioritise signing Southampton's Ryan Bertrand in January after Napoli's Faouzi Ghoulam―previously believed to be the top full-back target―suffered a knee injury.

That's according to The Sun's Daniel Cutts, who reports City have been watching Bertrand for the last two seasons, and that manager Pep Guardiola is a fan. The Citizens addressed the left-back position by adding Benjamin Mendy during the summer, but he suffered a serious injury in September.

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Ghoulam, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and could have arrived on a discount in January as a result, had been linked with the club the most of late, but an untimely injury of his own put a stop to those rumours, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News:

The Algerian suffered the injury in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League match against City, after impressing during the opening 30 minutes.

According to the report, Southampton value Bertrand at £30 million. Cutts shared these quotes from a source:

"Ryan Bertrand is back on the radar of City with Napoli refusing to budge on Ghoulam at present.

"Bertrand is a player City have ran the rule over before, but his transfer fee could be an issue, it all depends on what they ask for again.

"His homegrown status is also attractive. The issue they have is Benjamin Mendy is expected to be out for the season."

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Bertrand has become one of the Premier League's most consistent full-backs since moving to the Saints from Chelsea, and at the age of 28, his value is unlikely to rise. If he wanted to secure a move back to a top club, now would be the time.

Southampton have no real incentive to sell, however, as the England international signed a new five-year contract in 2016. If City want to add Bertrand, they'll likely have to spend a pretty penny.

Guardiola might opt to do just that, however. The Citizens have arguably been the best club in Europe this season, and they're expected to spend in January in a bid to win the UEFA Champions League.

Depth is the club's main concern at this point, and Bertrand would surely help in that department. Whether he's open to a battle to start with Mendy whenever the latter returns remains a question mark, but not for the immediate future.