Arsenal and Chelsea will be on alert as Premier League title rival Manchester City are reportedly set to receive a £200m kitty in the January transfer window as the club aims to tackle a string of disappointing results and pivot their season back on track.
The reigning Premier League champions have faced a challenging period, with eight losses in just 11 matches across all competitions, leading to their current fifth-place standing in the league and placing them at risk of missing out on qualifying spots for the revamped Champions League format.
Despite these hurdles, the Mirror reports that manager Pep Guardiola, who reaffirmed his commitment to the club by signing a fresh two-year contract last month, will be empowered with a substantial transfer budget come January.
The publication further suggests that a chunk of this investment might be channelled towards acquiring Bayern Munich's coveted midfielder Joshua Kimmich, whose contract with the German heavyweights concludes in under seven months.
Guardiola has prior experience coaching the 29-year-old midfield maestro during his tenure at Bayern before his move to City in 2016.
Confronted with queries regarding how the team's unfavourable performance streak has impacted him personally, Guardiola openly confessed to struggling with sleep and his appetite as of late: "I sleep badly and I don't digest [food]. I always have to eat light. Only soup in the evening," he told Amazon Prime.
"I am a person who is nervous sometimes. Yes, I have bad days, I mess up a lot. Rudeness makes me nervous. Do I lose my mind sometimes? Yes.", reports the Manchester Evening News.
Guardiola boasts an impressive trophy haul with City, clinching six Premier League crowns, four League Cups, two FA Cups and the Champions League in his tenure.
But despite the recent hiccups, the 53-year-old has no regrets about his renewed contract, firmly stating: "I would not be able to sleep – even worse than now – if I thought I was leaving when the club is in this situation. Impossible," he revealed.
Guardiola acknowledged the possibility of being sacked but dismissed any notion of departing amidst current challenges: "They might sack me, that could happen. But leaving now, in this position? No chance."
City failed to close the gap on Arsenal and Chelsea on Sunday afternoon as they fell to a late 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.