Manchester City could see a first-team player depart the club this month.placeholder image
Manchester City could see a first-team player depart the club this month. | Getty Images
Manchester City’s January transfer business may not yet be complete following two major arrivals
The clear winners of the January transfer window, at least where the Premier League is concerned, have been Manchester City.
The Cityzens have made arguably the two highest-profile signings of 2026 so far, in the shape of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, both signed from elsewhere the Premier League, no less – as the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were all beaten out by swift negotiations.
City are seven points behind Arsenal at the top of the table after going four league matches without a win but will feel that with their mid-season reinforcements, the gap is not insurmountable.
Pep Guardiola has never gone two successive seasons without winning the league title in his managerial career and will see that record put to the test in the spring, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal determined to finally get over the line after finishing as runners-up for the last three years in a row.
‘One player’ who could leave Man City revealed
In his latest transfer updates via The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet, David Ornstein has revealed that Manchester City winger Oscar Bobb ‘could be leaving’ the club this January following the arrival of Semenyo and a lack of first-team opportunities this term.
The 22-year-old is ‘expected’ to be sold before the window closes on February 2, with the possibility of developments this week amidst interest from the Premier League, Germany and Portugal. An offer of around £30million is expected to be enough to get the deal done, with City open to his departure if the ‘conditions are right’.
Bobb has made just 15 appearances in all competitions this season and just five of those being league starts, last featuring on 17 December when he picked up an injury in the Carabao Cup against Brentford. Latest reports from BBC Sport suggest that talks are underway with Fulham for a move for the Norwegian, who joined City from Valerenga in his homeland in summer 2019.
What Guardiola has said about Bobb in recent months
Guardiola has touched upon the future of Bobb on multiple occasions in recent months as speculation over an exit for the winger has surfaced. Speaking ahead of City’s trip to Bodø/Glimt in Bobb’s homeland on Tuesday, the Spaniard told reporters: "He [Bobb] says he's not fit so he's not fit."
The blunt response was a change of tune from Guardiola’s previous words on Bobb in November. "Sometimes he has less minutes because of the competition or maybe we play a little bit different. I have a lot of incredible good opinion about him," said the City manager.
"He played the first two or three games, played good defensively, his high pressing and intuition is extraordinary. The moment he is free in his mind he will do it. I know the last games with Norway he played really good and he will play a World Cup with Norway. I miss him last season a lot and he is going to help us. When he play he plays really good."
Asked why he had left Bobb out of the squad for successive matches, Guardiola retorted: "My decision. You tell me which one I have to leave out? That’s why. I have to leave one and it was Oscar."
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