Manchester City officials are expected to give manager Pep Guardiola permission to chase a new centre-back when the transfer market re-opens in January after the latest injury setback suffered by club caption Vincent Kompany.
According to the Guardian, there were no plans to go into the market for a new central defender in January until Kompany suffered a knee ligament problem last weekend. That will keep the Belgian sidelined for at least a month, with no guarantees for his future fitness thereafter.
In short, it could be the beginning of the end for a player who has a cornerstone of City's success since Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club in 2008.
Guardiola only bought John Stones to strengthen the centre of his defence during the summer when Leonardo Bonucci and Aymeric Laporte were both targets. Kompany was seemingly given the benefit of the doubt to prove he could still return full fitness and his former best, but that hasn't happened.
Despite their attacking prowess, City have struggled defensively this season, keeping only a limited number of clean sheets. Nicolas Otamendi has impressed on occasion but remains a loose cannon and isn't a leader, while left-back Aleksandar Kolarov has often been used as a stand-in.
The club still has Eliaquim Mangala on loan at Valencia, but it seems unlikely there will be a reprieve for the inconsistent Frenchman after being so quickly deemed surplus to requirements when Guardiola first arrived in Manchester in July.
It remains to be seen exactly who City would target in January. The aforementioned Bonucci is tied down to a long-term Juventus contract until 2020 and may not be easily attainable mid-season. Laporte is on an equally long deal at Athletic Bilbao, a club notorious for refusing to accept less than full release clauses for their bestplayers - in his case that is €65m.
Addressing the full-back situation will also be vitally important for Guardiola in the coming months. Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna are all out of contract at the end of the season and the wrong side of 30 years of age.
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