Manchester City want signing in before agreeing to January exit – Guardiola wants to keep ‘quality’ high

Over the past month or so, the Catalan press have been repeatedly stressing Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is a January target for Barcelona.

A handful of reports even indicated the winger is open to the idea of moving to the Camp Nou, if the La Liga side can find an agreement with the English champions.

The 26-year-old has seen his playing time restricted and has managed only three league starts for City this season.

Wednesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo states the player has ‘not taken’ the substitute role at the Etihad ‘very well’.

New manager Xavi Hernández wants a winger in the winter market that can suit his 4-3-3 formation. The England international is first on the list, but there are ‘difficulties involved’ to get him to Barcelona.

The Spanish giants have to offload some of their own players to lower their salary budget, before making an approach for the former Liverpool star.

With Sterling no longer a regular starter under Guardiola, Mundo Deportivo say City are willing to let him go out on loan in January, provided they sign a replacement first.

The Premier League winners want to keep the ‘quality’ high in the squad and allowing Sterling to leave the club, without bringing in a new attacker will see them ‘lose quality’.

These are the factors that make it difficult for Barcelona to sign Sterling in the next window.