Manchester City have started identifying potential defensive reinforcements, despite manager Pep Guardiola’s claim that he does not want to make any January signings.

Guardiola has insisted that the players City would be interested in will not be available in the next transfer window and that he is ready to rely on his current squad for the remainder of the season.

But that has not stopped City scouts identifying a number of defenders they will make checks on between now and next season, with sources not completely ruling out a January swoop if one of their targets becomes available.

City expect Nathan Ake, who is one defender they have looked at, to rejoin Chelsea thanks to the £40 million agreement that allows him to return to Stamford Bridge from Bournemouth.

But City are also watching the situations of Villarreal’s Pau Torres and Benfica’s Ruben Dias, who are both aged 22 and rated as two of the best young defenders in Europe.