Man City must sign centre-back to rival Chelsea in title race, says Ray Parlour
Tuesday 27 December 2016 14:47, UK
Pep Guardiola needs to sign a new centre-back in January to give Manchester City the best chance of catching Premier League leaders Chelsea, according to Ray Parlour.
City have looked fragile in Guardiola's preferred three at the back formation since the Spaniard's arrival in the summer, but did claim only their fourth clean sheet in the league this season on Boxing Day, winning 3-0 at struggling Hull.
Victory at the KCOM Stadium ensured second-placed City remained seven points behind Chelsea, but the three points came at a cost with defender John Stones hobbling off in the first half with a knee injury.
City remain without captain Vincent Kompany, who has been plagued by injuries over the past 18 months and is currently on the sidelines recovering from a knee ligament problem picked up in the 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on November 19.
"I think Pep would have looked at his back three and realised it needs strengthening, there's no doubt," Parlour told Premier League Daily.
"It's a big blow losing John Stones. He's a young player and he's going to have highs and lows in his career and, at the moment, he's not really been in the team and now he's picked up an injury.
"Kompany has been the big problem. He keeps coming back and getting injured again and that's been a real problem. He was the skipper of the side, he was the leader from the back and they've really missed him.
"So, I am sure if Pep Guardiola is going to target anybody, it will definitely be a centre-half. Whoever is out there, at this time of the year, you're not really going to get a top quality player because everybody is involved in cup competitions and their own league competition.
"But, if there's somebody out there who is of good quality, that would really help them chase Chelsea down."
