We won't buy in January- Pep Guardiola

The Spanish tactician is out of first choice centre backs due to injuries.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that City won't be signing players at the turn of the year to address the growing injury concerns in his squad. 

Pep's men have been hampered by long-term injuries this season to Leroy Sane, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones with the former two rupturing their ACLs. 

Injuries to Laporte and Stones along the lines of long-serving captain Vincent Kompany leaving in the summer have left the defensive department in troubled waters. 

Such predicaments have forced Pep to play defensive midfielder Fernandinho further back with Nicolas Otamendi in defence as the first-choice pairing. 

Speaking of restraining from signing players in the winter, Guardiola said, "That is not my business but in January, we are not going to buy because we don't have money to pay a huge amount in the summer so we cannot do it in winter."

Despite looking for replacements elsewhere, the former Barcelona and Bayern manager considers this as an opportunity to give young academy talents the chance that they deserve at first-team football. 

"We are going to stick to the players we have, with [Taylor] Harwood-Bellis and Eric [Garcia] and with the new players in the academy. We have young, talented players and we can count on them," said Guardiola of his younger charges."

Pep also expressed delight at Man City's reaction to the shock 3-2 defeat at Norwich as the Citizens pummelled Watford 8-0, praising the performances of the players rather than the result achieved. 

The 48-year old said to Sky, "It [the reaction] is good, but we knew our game at Norwich wasn't so bad, sometimes in football, you lose games but the reaction was similar to the reaction in the last years, it was good."

He added, "I know for some people, the result is all that matters. It usually matters because you can have a job for the next season, that's why the results are important but what makes me realise who we are and where we are going for the future is the way we play."

Manchester City will host Dinamo Zagreb to the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League on Matchday 2 on Tuesday.