Man City should have only one transfer priority in January after £350m spend

Manchester City have splashed the cash in 2025 to rejig Pep Guardiola's squad but there is one area that looks in need of further investment.

Matheus Nunes had a difficult afternoon at Brighton and questions persist over his ability to play right-back

More than £350million spent and nine new faces in Pep Guardiola's first-team squad tell the story of Manchester City's 2025, but that spending spree hasn't been able to fill every gap.

You don't have to search hard on social media in the aftermath of Monday's deadline to find supporters questioning the wisdom of going through the summer without signing a right-back.

That looks like the one glaring issue in the squad for now, after City quickly shelved their early interest in Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento earlier in the window.

This means Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes will battle it out for that position, at least for the first half of this season, and plenty of supporters believe neither is good enough.

Lewis has started the season well, but the 20-year-old's suitability for filling that role in the biggest games is questioned. The week after this international break, when City face Manchester United, Napoli, and Arsenal, could tell us more, as long as Lewis is fit after pulling out of England Under-21 duty.

Nunes started both of those games last season, although Lewis was suspended for the Etihad derby. Nunes hasn't won over everyone either. His chances of ever holding down a midfield role at City have ended, but he isn't defensively convincing at times at right-back, even if he can offer some power and pace going forward.

It will be interesting to see who Guardiola goes with against United, having started Lewis in the first two games of the season, before turning to Nunes at Brighton. The Portuguese had a difficult afternoon on the south coast, giving away the penalty that let the Seagulls back into the game with a handball that suggested a loss of concentration.

Every other area of Guardiola's squad has been reinforced this year. Marcus Bettinelli, James Trafford, and Gianluigi Donnarumma have strengthened the goalkeeping department, while Rayan Ait-Nouri arrived at left back and Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov at centre back.

Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders are now options in midfield for Guardiola, while Rayan Cherki can play out wide or as an attacking midfielder. Omar Marmoush can play as a striker, just off a striker, or out wide.

That is fresh options for pretty much every position on the bench, except for right-back. If anything, City have been weakened in that position with the departure of Kyle Walker, even if he struggled last season and was essentially out the door from January onwards when he joined AC Milan.

Lewis and Nunes now have at least four months to stake their own claims for this position, but ahead of the January transfer window, right-back options are likely to dominate City's thoughts.

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