Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said he is willing to dip into the market in the January transfer window to bolster his squad if their slump continues.
The Premier League champions have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, the most recent of which came against Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.
With their season on the brink going into Sunday's derby against city rivals Manchester United, sources told ESPN that City will back Guardiola as they pursue the signing of Martín Zubimendi and Bruno Guimarães in January. This comes on the back of City posting record revenues of £715 million ($906m) and a transfer profit of £139m in their annual financial report.
"What I want is my players back. I will love desperately to compete with the squad that we had at the beginning of the season," Guardiola said in a news conference on Friday when asked about the prospect of January signings.
"I always said I want these players, not new ones. But in the certain moment, the right moment, we will see."
"Massive congratulations on the accounts because the club must be sustainable. That doesn't mean we have big, big resources to buy whatever we want, especially with how expensive the transfer market is," he added.