Can Marc Guehi Save Manchester City from a Season Spiraling into Oblivion?
By 247sportcity | Thursday, January 22, 2026
MANCHESTER – The silence at the final whistle in the Arctic Circle was deafening, broken only by the jubilant celebrations of a team that had no business beating the champions of England. On a frozen Tuesday night at the Aspmyra Stadium—a venue with a capacity smaller than a single stand at the Etihad—Manchester City’s 2025/26 season seemingly hit rock bottom.
Pep Guardiola, a manager who has spent a decade sculpting footballing perfection, looked shell-shocked. He has never been one to mince his words, but his assessment following the 3-1 humiliation by Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt bordered on apocalyptic.
“Everything has started to be, since the New Year, against us,” Guardiola confessed to the press, his breath visible in the freezing Norwegian air. “We have to change the dynamic quickly. The feeling is that everything that could go wrong is going wrong.”
Into this maelstrom steps Marc Guehi. The England international has arrived to bring order to the chaos, signed for a bargain fee in a market that has otherwise seen City hemorrhage cash. But as the dust settles on a disastrous January, the question remains: Can one defender, no matter how talented, fix a machine that appears to be broken in every department?
The Scale of the Disaster: A New Year’s Nightmare
To understand the burden placed on Guehi’s shoulders, one must first appreciate the depth of the hole City have dug for themselves. The word “crisis” is often overused in modern football, but for a club of Manchester City’s stature, the current reality is nothing short of a catastrophe.
Since the turn of the year, the Premier League giants have managed just two wins in seven games. Their domestic cup victories have provided the only respite in a month defined by lethargy and defensive frailty.
The week leading up to the Bodo/Glimt clash was particularly bruising. First came the “limp” defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United—a derby performance devoid of passion and fight that left supporters in despair. Then came the trip to Norway.
Bodo/Glimt, a club from a town with a population smaller than the Etihad’s capacity, had never competed in the Champions League proper before this season. Prior to Tuesday, they had not won a single game in the competition. Their squad value, according to Transfermarkt, is roughly a quarter of Erling Haaland’s individual market value. Their ten most expensive signings in history cost a combined £23.5 million ($31m).
Yet, they ripped City to shreds.
In contrast, City have spent £85 million this January alone. Over the last three transfer windows, that figure balloons to an eye-watering £445 million ($597m). The financial disparity was enormous, yet on the pitch, the gulf in desire and organization was even wider—in the wrong direction.
The Coup of the Window: Why Guehi is a Steal
Amidst the gloom, the capture of Marc Guehi represents a rare beam of light. Securing one of Europe’s most coveted defenders for just £20 million ($26.8m) is a piece of business that harkens back to the astute dealings of City’s past.
The low fee is dictated by contract realities—Guehi could have left Crystal Palace for free in June—but City’s aggression to get the deal done now was decisive. They didn’t just sign a player; they won a high-stakes poker game against Europe’s elite.
The Hijack:
- Bayern Munich: The German giants utilized Harry Kane and Michael Olise to personally reach out to Guehi, attempting to lure him to the Bundesliga.
- Liverpool: The Reds were incredibly close to signing him the previous summer. Reports confirm Guehi was literally inside a scanning machine at a private hospital, undergoing his medical, when Palace pulled the plug at the insistence of manager Oliver Glasner.
By swooping in five months early, City have secured a bargain. But this is not a luxury signing; it is an emergency extraction.
The Defensive Void: Cleaning Up the Mess
Guehi walks into a dressing room that has been decimated by injury and a loss of form. The backline, once the impenetrable foundation of Guardiola’s success, has crumbled.
The injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol against Chelsea earlier this month left Guardiola with no choice but to field a makeshift defense. The result was a reliance on youth that backfired spectacularly.
Against both Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt, City fielded Abdukodir Khusanov (21) and Max Alleyne (20). While talented prospects, they were thrown to the wolves. Alleyne, in particular, endured a “baptism of fire” at Old Trafford, being substituted at halftime after being exposed repeatedly.
His nightmare continued in Norway. Alleyne was culpable for two defensive errors in the space of two minutes that gifted Bodo their opening goals. To compound the misery, he missed a glorious headed chance at the other end—the exact type of opportunity Guehi has made a habit of scoring (netting seven times for club and country in the last two seasons).
Guehi offers an immediate upgrade. He is a “ready-made leader,” the man who captained Crystal Palace to FA Cup glory and served as England’s most consistent performer during their run to the Euro 2024 final. With John Stones—a man Guehi calls “a big brother”—set to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, Guehi is both the short-term fix and the long-term successor.
The Leadership Vacuum and The “Rodri Problem”
However, fixing the defense is only half the battle. The rot at Manchester City goes deeper than missed tackles; it strikes at the very character of the squad.
The last 12 months have seen a massive exodus of experience. The departures of Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Manuel Akanji have stripped the dressing room of its serial winners. The voices that used to demand excellence are gone, replaced by talented but quiet youngsters.
But perhaps the most alarming development concerns the man who stayed: Rodri.
For years, the Spaniard was the barometer of City’s success. He went 14 months without losing a match, a run that rightfully earned him the 2024 Ballon d’Or. The narrative was simple: No Rodri, no party.
That narrative has flipped on its head in 2026.
- With Rodri: City have a 50% win rate this season.
- Without Rodri: City have won 84.2% of their games.
The midfielder looks a shadow of his former self. Against United, he surrendered possession repeatedly. In Norway, his performance was described as “abject.” He lost the ball in the build-up to Bodo’s third goal and, in a moment of madness, received two yellow cards in less than sixty seconds, killing any momentum City had gained after Rayan Cherki pulled a goal back.
Tactical Stubbornness and Striker Woes
The problems are compounded by Guardiola’s refusal to adapt. Despite the injury crisis leaving him without his best defenders, the manager continues to deploy a high-risk system involving a three-man defense in possession, screened only by an out-of-form Rodri. Opposition teams have figured it out: bypass the press, isolate the kids at the back, and score. Manchester United did it. Bodo/Glimt did it.
And then there is Erling Haaland. The Viking looks lost. He has failed to score from open play in his last eight matches. Visibly frustrated by his workload and the team’s inability to serve him, his post-match comments in Norway were scathing.
“I don’t want to blame anyone, but we need to take more responsibility because in the end it’s not good enough,” Haaland said. “We’re Man City. We can’t go around and not win games. I just apologize to everyone… because in the end, it’s embarrassing.”
The Road Ahead: Wolves and Beyond
The gesture to refund the 374 traveling fans—a cost of nearly £10,000 split among the squad—was a noble act of contrition. It mirrors similar moves by Arsenal and Everton in the past. But City fans do not want their money back; they want their team back.
Marc Guehi’s arrival ahead of Saturday’s clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers is a massive boost. He brings technical quality, aerial dominance, and a voice that commands respect. He has stated his ambition is to play until he is 40, signaling a dedication to longevity that City desperately need.
But Guehi is just one man. He cannot make Rodri stop giving the ball away. He cannot make Haaland score. He cannot force Guardiola to be more pragmatic. He can stop the bleeding at the back, but unless the entire squad engages in deep self-reflection, the “Arctic Apocalypse” may just be the beginning of a long, cold winter for Manchester City.