The China Mail - Man City move for Gonzalez, Tel set for Spurs loan on deadline day

City's midfield frailties without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who is out for the season due to a serious knee injury, were exposed in a 5-1 thrashing at Arsenal on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's men find themselves in a battle just to qualify for next season's Champions League, with the defending champions sitting fourth in the Premier League, 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.

City could also use reinforcements for a blockbuster Champions League play-off round tie against holders Real Madrid later this month.

Former Barcelona midfielder Gonzalez, 23, will reportedly arrive for a fee of 60 million euros (£50 million, $62 million).

City have already splashed out more than £120 million in January on Egypt forward Omar Marmoush and young defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov.

Tottenham have been busy in the final hours of the window as they aim to bolster Ange Postecoglou's injury-ravaged squad.

Tel reportedly turned down the opportunity to join Spurs on a permanent deal earlier in the window after a £50 million deal was agreed with the German giants.

But the highly-rated French under-21 international is now set to move to north London until the end of the season.

Spurs are also keen to add more defensive recruits before the window closes at 2300GMT.

The BBC reported Crystal Palace rejected a £70 million bid from Tottenham for captain Marc Guehi, who has just 18 months left to run of his contract at Selhurst Park.

Chelsea's Axel Disasi has been linked with a move across London, while Spurs also completed the signing of centre-back Kevin Danso from Lens on Sunday.

Aston Villa added more firepower with the signing of Marco Asensio on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Spaniard, who won three Champions League titles with Real Madrid, joins Marcus Rashford as new options for Unai Emery's forward line after the departure of Jhon Duran to Saudi side Al Nassr.

However, there are unlikely to be any deadline day deals for Premier League title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal or struggling Manchester United.

Arsenal's bid to strengthen their forward line appears to have been frustrated after Villa rebuffed an offer for England international Ollie Watkins last week.

United boss Ruben Amorim said the club were "trying everything to improve the team without doing mistakes of the past" following Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Red Devils are wary of breaching profit and sustainability rules and were reportedly put off a move for Tel due to Bayern's demand for a loan fee.

West Ham completed the loan signing of Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, who is reunited with his former manager Graham Potter.

The Seagulls replaced Ferguson with highly-rated Greek forward Stefanos Tzimas, who had been linked with Liverpool, but will remain at Bundesliga 2 side FC Nuremberg for the remainder of the season.

C.Fong--ThChM