Manchester City have one of the strongest squads in the Premier League and were strong favourites for the title this season.

And true to expectation, City started the season perfectly, winning their first six matches before being defeated at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

The club’s form has been sketchy ever since and have drawn their last three Premier League games at home.

Whilst new manager Pep Guardiola has plenty of reason to be happy with his start to life in England, he’ll know that there is a lot more this squad needs to become world beaters.

They just defeated Barcelona at the Etihad in the Champions League which is sure to improve confidence and morale, but being the perfectionist that Guardiola is, he’ll want a few more additions in January to really make the squad complete.

The punters here at the  Transfer Tavern think that now Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has signed a long term contract, City might look to Germany for a young promising one as well as signing a world class centre half….

Leonardo Bonucci

The first player on Guardiola’s Christmas shopping list must be the Italian rock.

Bonucci currently plies his trade in Serie A for the all-conquering Old Lady; Juventus.

He impressed under Antonio Conte in the European Championships as Italy exceeded expectations and made it to the quarter-final where they were defeated by Germany on a dramatic penalty shootout.

In the summer transfer window, City were strongly linked with the centre half and he certainly comes under the mould of a Guardiola type player as he is very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Nevertheless, City signed John Stones from Everton but if the opportunity arose to sign Bonucci, the punters doubt that Guardiola would pass it up.

He has played over 200 league games for Juventus, netting 13 times.

Benjamin Henrichs

According to the MEN, City are targeting Leverkusen’s 19-year-old promising full-back Benjamin Henrichs.

He can also feature in midfield and his versatility is likely to tempt Guardiola to give him a chance.

The Spaniard will be aware of Henrichs’ ability having managed in Germany over the past three seasons as he led Bayern Munich.

He may have only just broken into the Leverkusen first team but he has been called up to the senior national squad as Joachim Low named a very experimental German squad for their upcoming international fixtures.

Additionally, whilst City may have targeted Hector Bellerin originally, according to ESPN, the Arsenal full back has agreed a new deal with the Gunners which makes his signing all the more unlikely.

City are desperate for a new full back and a delve into Germany could be on the cards.