Manchester City facing transfer dilemma as winger signing targeted for January 2026

Officials at Manchester City are currently weighing up what profile of winger they will aim to sign in 2026 to add to Pep Guardiola’s attacking options.

The Premier League giants are believed to have been assessing wide options since the summer, as Pep Guardiola continues to admit concerns about a lack of goals from midfield and a growing dependence on Erling Haaland.

City continue to experiment with different wide profiles from the explosive Jeremy Doku to the more possession-heavy style embodied by Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, as well as rising talents such as Savinho and Oscar Bobb.

Internal conversations have come into sharper focus ahead of the upcoming winter market, with rival clubs circling the same attacking targets – including Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo – and Manchester City mapping out not just January, but 2026 as a wider year.

According to a new report from MailSport’s Craig Hope, City’s ‘immediate priority’ is thought to be wide areas in the upcoming January window, with Semenyo – available at £65 million – being considered.

It is claimed that Etihad recruitment chiefs are currently weighing up whether a ‘powerful and direct’ winger of Semenyo’s profile, or a more ‘skilful and intricate’ one similar to the likes of Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva would be the preference.

This debate reflects a broader structural choice of whether Guardiola intends to evolve toward a more transition-heavy forward line, or double down on the traditional control-heavy style that has defined much of his tenure.

Semenyo, who is admired by Guardiola, fits the former category with his pace, physicality, and goal threat, while also matching the pattern of Manchester City increasingly targeting Premier League-proven attackers.

Looking ahead, the outcome may depend heavily on how the early weeks of the January window unfold. If another club activates Semenyo’s release clause, City will be forced to pivot toward the alternative winger archetype or hold out until the summer.

But if Bournemouth’s forward remains available into the summer, he could become a central figure in Manchester City’s 2026/27 planning, in what could be Pep Guardiola’s final season of a legendary Etihad Stadium tenure.