David Ornstein shares what he is "hearing" from inside Manchester City after 4-0 defeat against Tottenham

Manchester City are in crisis mode.

The Citizens suffered a shock 4-0 defeat against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to make it five losses in a row under Pep Guardiola, the first time Manchester City have ever experienced such a run under the Spaniard.

In fact, the 53-year-old has never before lost five consecutive games at any point throughout his managerial career.

Clearly, the absence of Rodri – who Real Madrid want – is hurting Manchester City, and David Ornstein has now shared what he is “hearing” from inside the Etihad Stadium ahead of the January transfer window.

Manchester City likely to spend on a new central midfielder

The very reliable journalist has been speaking to NBC Sports Soccer about the latest at Manchester City – and made an interesting comment.

Ornstein said: “Let’s see if Man City go into the market in January now for that position (defensive midfield). I’m hearing a lot in the industry that suggests they may well.”

It would be a surprise if Manchester City decided not to flex their financial muscles and sort this obvious problem position out in January – with Rodri likely to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	12	9	2	1	21	6	15	29
2	Man CityManchester City	12	7	2	3	22	17	5	23
3	ChelseaChelsea	12	6	4	2	23	14	9	22

If not, Guardiola can probably kiss his chances of winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title goodbye – with the Citizens already eight points behind Liverpool.

Who Manchester City could sign to replace Rodri

Incidentally, the Citizens have been linked with several midfielders who could step in to replace Rodri – temporarily at least until the Spain international recovers.

Firstly, Manchester City admire Crystal Palace No.20 Adam Wharton – and could make attempts to lure the England international away from Selhurst Park this winter.

Furthermore, Manchester City could sign Martin Zubimendi – the Spain international who Liverpool tried to buy last summer, only for him to opt against leaving his boyhood club at that stage of his career.

TBR Football also understand Manchester City like Joshua Kimmich – although Bayern Munich are keen to keep the Germany international, whose contract expires in July 2025.

After five straight defeats, it would be a huge surprise if Txiki Begiristain did not even attempt to sign a new No.6 in January.