Pep Guardiola has informed Manchester City’s hierarchy that he would like to sign Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez and Virgil van Dijk of Southampton, with both understood to have been identified as prime targets for the Premier League leaders. However, City are unlikely to pursue him in the January window and view the former Celtic defender as a long-term replacement for Kompany. De Koster is on holiday until after Christmas but told the Guardian he expects the deal to be confirmed in the coming weeks. Guardiola is also keen to retain the services of Sergio Agüero despite the potential arrival of Sánchez. But with City still in contention to win an unprecedented quadruple of Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League, he remains part of the manager’s plans.

Source: The Guardian December 21, 2017 13:30 UTC