Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Virgil van Dijk, Inigo Martinez

Manchester City want to sign a centre-back in January and have narrowed their list to Southampton's Virgil van Dijk and Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez.

Goal's Sam Lee reported as much:

Lee noted City are "seriously considering a rival offer" for Van Dijk in January amid the expectation Liverpool will also resume their pursuit of him.

The Dutchman was linked with both sides in the summer and chose Liverpool as his preferred destination, but Southampton kept hold of him.

Football journalist Shane Burns supplied more details from Lee's report:

"

Guardiola sees Van Dijk as his preferred January recruit but City are apprehensive regarding his price and worry how he will respond to not playing every week. Martinez on the other hand has a £30million buy-out clause and would accept rotation much easier.

— Shane Burns (@ShaneBurns_) December 14, 2017"

Van Dijk has established himself among the Premier League's best defenders in recent years and his experience of the top flight should make it much easier for him to adapt to the switch.

The 26-year-old is a key figure at the back for Saints, though, and prising him away in the middle of the season could be even more difficult and costly than it would have been in the summer, when he had a £70 million price tag, according to the Daily Mail's Sam Cunningham.

City have embarked on a 15-match winning streak in the Premier League to give themselves an 11-point lead at the top of the table, and they have the joint-best defensive record having shipped just 11 goals.

Nevertheless, the weakest area of their side is the back line.

The Independent's Miguel Delaney believes it would have borne fruit for Manchester United if they had provided more of an attacking threat to City's defence in their derby defeat last Sunday:

Van Dijk could offer a greater improvement to the Sky Blues than Martinez, but that's not to say the Spaniard would not be a worthwhile signing.

The Sociedad star, also 26, fits the profile centre-back manager Pep Guardiola favours as he's composed on the ball and comfortable distributing it out from the back.

Here's a look at his highlights from last season, in which he supplied four goals and five assists in all competitions:

Martinez's attacking contributions are impressive, but more importantly he's a robust defender, even if he is perhaps not quite at Van Dijk's level.

He's a much more attainable target this January and could make a useful asset to the squad as City look to maintain their healthy lead while operating on multiple fronts in the second half of the season.