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If a reminder was needed of why Manchester City are looking at a January transfer outlay that could yet creep towards £200million, the final eight minutes and injury time at the Gtech Community Stadium provided it.
In fact, there’s an argument that the whole 90 minutes illustrated the desperate need for reinforcements. A 2-0 win for City would have been welcomed, of course, and with Liverpool dropping points, it would have fuelled talk of getting back in the title. In reality, it would have been papering over the cracks.
Some of those familiar feelings were on show against Brentford. Granted, City are looking better going forward, but they remain vulnerable defensively and uncompetitive in midfield. It developed into a thrilling, end-to-end, open game, not because City let it, but because they were powerless to stop it.
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Those reinforcements can’t come soon enough. Speaking after the game, Phil Foden welcomed the idea of a few new faces bringing a freshness to the squad. Deals have been agreed for defenders Abdukodir Khusanov, 20, from Lens, and Vitor Reis, 18, from Palmeiras, for a combined fee of £63million.
City are yet to find an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt over forward Omar Marmoush, but a deal that could nudge towards £70m for the 25-year-old remains likely. With two-and-a-half weeks of the window to go, that is a good position to be in.
The £130m or so outlay will also buy City time to finalise a fourth new arrival before the window shuts on February 3. If the right player can be signed, a holding midfielder is still on the agenda.
There is an argument that deal could be the most pivotal of all, given the issues City face in central areas. Foden touched on it on Thursday with his assessment that City struggled with the pace in the final 20 minutes, an issue Guardiola broadly agreed with.
“We have a lot of absences that would give us that composure and physicality,” he said. “Kova comes from injury, Rodri is not there, Bernardo is making an incredible effort, Gundogan is an attacking midfielder, so sometimes… yeah, we know that.”
Arsenal are working on a deal to sign the impressive Spain international Martin Zubimendi, although the deal is set for completion next summer, and City’s priority is now. They have been looking at Atalanta’s holding midfielder Ederson, among others.
City clearly need more energy and physicality in midfield. Ilkay Gundogan has now been on the bench for four successive Premier League games, having started the previous eight, and the 34-year-old’s return to the club has been disappointing.
Mateo Kovacic has tried hard to fill Rodri’s shoes and is the best option, but he is better on the ball than off it. Rico Lewis has had similar issues, and Matheus Nunes has been repurposed as an emergency full-back. Bernardo continues to try to cover every blade of grass without making much of an impact.
Kevin De Bruyne and Foden have looked better in an attacking sense recently, but to get the most out of them going forward, you want a midfielder behind them who offers immense powers of ball recovery, can read the game, break up opposition attacks and brings physicality and power. Rodri, essentially.
Finding someone who can replace all of those assets in January will be difficult. If City sign Khusanov, Reis, and Marmoush this window, it will have been a good January and a good start to rebuilding this squad. If they can also use the final couple of weeks to land a holding midfielder, good could be upgraded to great.