City stole the headlines on ‘Deadline Day’ with the revelation regarding Manuel Pellegrini’s future, but there were no new recruits for the Blues in January.
The Chilean had insisted throughout the month he had no plans to bring in new faces, but that didn’t stop the rumours from flying around.
So who was said to be joining...? Well, a staggering 34 players were linked with moves to the Etihad Stadium - some who’ve been mentioned before; some who haven’t.
The most frequent name that appeared in our daily media round-ups was Spanish star Isco. Tales of his ‘latest’ situation were included almost every day from the window’s opening.
On the very first of the month, it was claimed City were plotting a bid of £32million for the midfielder, who was apparently frustrated with his lack of first-team opportunities at the Bernabeu.
A few days later, there was a suggestion the Blues would take him on loan instead, with the view to a permanent deal in summer - only for new Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane to declare his plans to utilise the 23-year-old.
Even then, it transpired Isco would apparently be offered to City for a reduced price in summer - so you can look forward to hearing more speculation regarding his future towards the end of the season!
Another name which kept cropping up was Leroy Sane.
Again the 20-year-old was mentioned upon the opening of the window, and again the alleged figure was £32million.
Schalke general manager Horst Heldt then ruled out a sale, before it was claimed the asking price had been raised to £40million - only for chairman of the board Clemens Tonnies and agent Jurgen Milewski to again dismiss the rumours.
After all that, reports argued Barcelona had met his buy-out clause, but with no deal completed, this speculation could also rear its head again in the summer.
In other news, John Stones’ future also became a regular talking point.
Suggestions of a move to City for the defender have been mooted for months if not years now, and after he was included in a ‘five players the Blues should sign’ feature (along with Ricardo Rodriguez, Mauro Icardi, Ever Banega and Cesc Fabregas), speculation continued to mount. The latest ‘news’ argues a bid could be made in summer - again!
Elsewhere, Paul Pogba was mentioned (as usual) with the suggestion Real Madrid are planning to beat City and Barca to his signature at the end of the season with a £100million bid.
Meanwhile, Leo Messi rumours appeared just once, after the Argentine pledged his future to Luis Enrique’s side.
Other linked superstars included David Villa, Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar and Eden Hazard.
The rumour regarding the Chelsea man was reported most frequently of those five, but none of the stories regarding any of them heralded much substance - certainly when it came to January transfers.
The same goes for the mooted interest in Jamie Vardy, Javier Pastore, Edinson Cavani, Paulo Dybala and Alexis Sanchez.
There seemed to be more to the gossip featuring Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams though, as stories concerning City’s alleged interest appeared more often.
Dubbed ‘the fastest player in La Liga’, the 21-year-old drew the attentions of plenty of top-flight clubs, but despite talk of activating a release clause after he signed a new contract, no offer was put in.
Plenty more youngsters were linked, including teenagers Che Adams, Andrija Zivkovic, Emre Mor, Moussa Dembele, Reece Oxford, Leandrinho, Ben Chilwell and Kelechi Nwakali.
Other names included 20-year-olds Julian Weigl and Matt Miazga, plus Aymeric Laporte (21), Sofiane Boufal (22) and Cristiano Piccini (23).
Finally, alleged interest in five-year-old Lewis Towns was also reported, with the starlet apparently attracting interest from a number of clubs.
Sure of his future success in the game, grandfather William, 63, placed two £50 bets on Premier League and international appearances - at odds of 1,500-1.
You’ll have to wait longer than summer to find out whether that prediction comes true!
In terms of outgoings, today saw Patrick Roberts join Celtic on loan for 18 months, while Enes Unal and Bruno Zuculini signed for NEC Breda and AEK Athens respectively until the end of the season.
Earlier in the month, Ian Lawlor and Shay Facey also made temporary switches to Bury and Rotherham, and George Evans left the club to join Reading in a permanent deal.
