5 players Manchester City could sign in January

Manchester City has been in stunning form this season with 21 wins from 24 games in all competitions.

They are currently fighting on four fronts as they seek to dominate English football as well as win their first Champions League title. However, to keep up this form throughout the season, they need new signings to bolster key areas. Here's a look at five players they could realistically sign.

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#5 Fabinho (AS Monaco)

Fabinho has expressed a strong desire to leave AS Monaco

Fabinho was a key part of Monaco's exciting, young team last season. He helped start attacks as well as provide a defensive screen in front of the backline.

The part of his play that Pep Guardiola will be most interested in is his ability to recycle possession and keep play moving. Monaco mostly relied on counter-attacks to break the opposition so Fabinho is used to moving play upfield quickly and effectively in order to maintain a high tempo.

Fernandinho is doing an excellent job as the pivot in City's team this season. He is effective at ensuring that the ball reaches the creative players while also breaking up opposition attacks and covering for players that are out of position.

His intelligence is vital for this role and allows him to excel at him. Without him, the cohesiveness of the team would be affected significantly.

However, Fabinho is a similar kind of player and could be an excellent long-term replacement. The Citizens do have ?lkay Gündo?an as a backup for that role, but he is injury-prone so he can't be relied on even though he is immensely talented.

The Principality side has struggled this season as most of their key players were sold in the summer. They replaced these effectively but have been in transition as these new players are still adjusting to the team and its playing style.

PSG are nine points ahead in the league and AS Monaco finished bottom of their Champions League group.

This means that their only realistic chance of silverware is in the two domestic cups. Therefore, Fabinho may decide to move early in order to be part of Guardiola's impressive project.

Although he would command a hefty fee. It would be worth it, though, because it would give City added depth in a key area.

#4 Alex Sandro (Juventus)

An amazing athlete, Sandro's arrival will take Cit

Sandro's transfer saga is likely to be one of the key stories of the January transfer window. He is one of the best left-backs in football and is attracting plenty of interest around of Europe due to his potential availability.

Chelsea and Manchester United are currently the favourites to sign him, but City would definitely be an attractive proposition if they went after him.

He is available to sign in January because relations have deteriorated between him and Juventus.

Chelsea and other clubs were after him in the summer, but the transfers of Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves meant that the Italian champions were unwilling to sell any more of their defenders. This obviously angered Sandro and affected his relationship with the club.

City only has one left-back at the club currently: Benjamin Mendy. His injury meant that Fabian Delph was drafted in there with Danilo occasionally filling in when needed.

They have both performed well in that role, but it's not an ideal solution because Danilo is right-footed and Delph is a central midfielder by trade. Buying Sandro would allow Guardiola to rotate between him and Mendy with the Brazilian's experience being useful for the big games.

He has the attacking ability to prosper as a full-back in Guardiola's system. They are key in providing width for their attacks as well as controlling the flanks.

This enables the forward players to cut inside and interchange which helps make their attacking play fluid and unpredictable. Sandro is likely to cost around £65m, so he won't be a priority due to their need for a centre-back.

However, if they want to be ambitious in January, there is certainly an opportunity and it's unlikely that he will wait to move in the summer.

#3 Iñigo Martínez (Real Sociedad)

Inigo has been impressive for La Real for more than 5 seasons now

The Spanish defender is the heart of the Real Sociedad defence and his composure on the ball allows them to play a high defensive line and control games by dictating play in the opposition half.

His experience with this style of play means he would fit into City's defence because they play in a similar manner. Although, their expert use of counter-pressing reduces the danger of counter-attacks and means the defence isn't left exposed, which is an issue at Martínez's current club: Real Sociedad.

Martínez was linked with Barcelona in the summer due to him having a £28m release clause in his contract. The deal never materialized for whatever reason, but it gives City a chance to pick up a bargain. He would certainly boost the depth in the centre-back area and could effectively take Vincent Kompany's place in the team due to the Belgian's injury issues.

The only issue is whether he would be happy being a backup because he is unlikely to take John Stones or Nicolás Otamendi's place in the team.

He would be substituting guaranteed first-team football for a realistic chance of winning trophies. It depends on what he prefers but he could work his way into the first-team because Guardiola has shown that competition for places is welcomed.

He may wait until the summer before leaving, though, because he needs first-team football to assert his claim for a World Cup place due to the amount of competition in the Spanish national team.

#2 Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)

The Alexis saga has been an ongoing one but may end in January

This would be a blockbuster move because it would weaken a rival while boosting City significantly. The only reason this could potentially happen is because Sánchez's contract runs out in the summer and this would be the only way for Arsenal to recoup some money from his transfer.

Arsenal is unlikely to sell to a rival especially seen as Sánchez is a key player. However, the Citizens are so far ahead in the league that they can't be classed as a direct rival this season.

Instead, the Gunners will be fighting with the rest of the top six for the Champions League spots. Losing the Chilean for nothing would be a much bigger loss than potentially losing points to City in the sole game they will play them as well as missing his presence in other games.

He clearly isn't happy being there due to them blocking a summer move and this will be impacting squad morale.

They could also potentially replace him with Thomas Lemar who has been linked to the club multiple times. They are different types of players but the French winger would definitely boost the squad.

Sánchez would offer City versatility because he could plan anywhere along the forward line or even as a playmaker. He has previous experience with Guardiola from their time together at Barcelona, so he already has an understanding of the Catalan's methods.

This would boost City's squad rotation as well as giving them more options off the bench to have an effect on big games.

His transfer would go against City's policy of bringing in youth in forward areas, but he is at his peak, and his experience would be vital in the tough games which are more likely to be in the Champions League rather than the Premier League.

It would also give Guardiola's team an additional threat because Sánchez offers central penetration from his ability to cut inside from the left side as well as another genuine goal threat.

#1 Virgil van Dijk (Southampton)

Van Dijk may prefer the smooth operations at City to the chaos that is Liverpool

This is likely to be an expensive transfer with £70m being the potential price tag according to some sources.

There are also other Premier League clubs after him such as Arsenal and Liverpool, but this is the same situation as was in the summer. The benefits of this transfer are that van Dijk is already accustomed to the league, so it would just be Guardiola's methods which he would have to get used to.

He hasn't impressed this season, but last season he was the heart of the defence as Southampton reached the EFL Cup final as well as finishing eighth in the league.

The transfer saga in the summer is probably to blame for his lack of consistent form over the past few months, though.

A January move would allow him to move to a bigger club and end the uncertainty over his future while also giving the Saints significant resources to find a replacement.

His physical presence and aerial ability mean that van Dijk thrives in the traditional attributes of a central defender. However, he is also intelligent with his positioning which allows him to cover for others.

His passing would have to be worked on because his current pass success percentage of 85.8% is too low. The centre-back position is key in Guardiola's system due to the amount of time they have on the ball as well as the occasional need to break the lines with their passing.