David Villa or Andrea Pirlo among potential City deals in January

Manchester City are not expected to make any big moves in the January transfer window after spending more than £150 million in the summer, bringing in the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi.

But with the Blues still challenging for silverware in all four competitions, Manuel Pellegrini's squad will be stretched to the limit.

They have already suffered major injury setbacks to captain Vincent Kompany and midfielder Samir Nasri while Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Wilfried Bony have missed large chunks of the season.

Pellegrini could bolster his numbers by taking talent from sister club New York City.

The two clubs have enjoyed a fruitful partnership that saw Frank Lampard move to the Etihad last term while young stars Shay Facey and Angelino made the opposite journey to the Bronx.

Here are five players who could make an impact in Pellegrini's squad:

David Villa

The Spanish striker was named New York City's most valuable player at the end of the season after he scored 18 goals.

City have been short of striking options with first choice forwards Aguero and Bony missing large parts of the season through injury and just young Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho for back-up.

Now 34, the former Barcelona star would seem a perfect fit at the Etihad. He still has the sharpness and eye for goal which could boost City as they bid for trophies on four fronts.

And Villa may be tempted by the opportunity to team up with former teammate David Silva, who he enjoyed playing with previously at Valencia and Spain.

Khiry Shelton

Shelton is an exciting prospect and has just been called up to the United States national team's training camp. The 22-year-old striker was the No. 2 overall pick in last year's MLS SuperDraft and after being slowly incorporated into the squad, he finished the season with one goal.

Shelton's football education would certainly be enhanced by a period in Europe and mixing with the stars at City. And the young striker may be capable of making a contribution, with Pellegrini's men having to balance commitments in four competitions.

Kwadwo Poku

One of the successes in New York's debut season, Poku made 27 appearances and scored six goals. He also looked more than at home playing alongside Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo.

The midfielder is a product of Ghana's Asante Kotoko academy, which has produced the likes of former Leeds United striker Tony Yeboah and ex-Bayern Munich defender Samuel Kuffour.

After spells with Georgia Revolution and Atlanta Silverbacks, the 23-year-old has a growing reputation. Poku was one of five New York players to train at the City Football Academy ahead of the 2016 MLS season, so Pellegrini will have been able to check out his potential at close quarters.

Manchester City took advantage of their relationship with NYC FC when they landed Frank Lampard on a short-term deal last season.

Frank Lampard

The England midfielder joined Manchester City at the start of the 2014-15 season and became so vital that he extended his loan for a further five months. It caused some embarrassment for the City Football Group with the English side effectively pulling rank by holding on to one of New York's marquee signings.

Lampard made his mark with influential performances and crucial goals -- not least a late equaliser against his former club Chelsea and the winner away at Leicester City.

His homegrown status also makes the 37-year-old an attractive prospect but New York fans were slow to take to Lampard after his delayed arrival and would not be happy to see him head back to England.

Andrea Pirlo

The veteran midfielder has ruled out a return to Europe this winter after vowing to see out his contract with New York City.

But Pirlo is determined to be part of Italy's squad for Euro 2016 and his case would be enhanced by a return to Europe. His quality is unquestionable, and even at 36, the Italian is still capable of dictating the game as a deep-lying midfielder.

Pirlo has no Premier League experience but as a two-time Champions League winner, his European know-how would be invaluable.

NYCFC, Union, and Fire All Make Bold Moves in Draft

New York City FC traded up to get a player it coveted, Philadelphia drafted touted prospects who play positions of need, and Chicago appeared to bolster its young core of players in the MLS SuperDraft.

THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft are in the books but the winners and losers won’t be known for months—or maybe even years.

Still, this year’s draft class appears to be deeper and more talented overall than the 2015 iteration, and what ensued was revealing. New management at Philadelphia and Chicago took their first steps in their respective roles, while New York City FC made waves in an effort to recover from a dismal first season.

Here are five early impressions on the proceedings. 

NYCFC GETS ITS MAN 

Coming into the draft it was pretty clear that New York City FC was set on Wake Forest midfielder Jack Harrison—one of the youngest players in the draft and perhaps the most talented.

Chicago drafted the English-born Harrison with the top overall pick, then traded him to NYCFC a few picks later and selected Stanford left back Brandon Vincent. So both teams got the player they wanted.

But why, exactly, NYCFC so coveted Harrison is a bit of a head-scratcher. The club needs help in many areas, but midfield was the one spot where it appears to have no need for additional depth: Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, and Mix Diskerud play centrally, while Patrick Mullins and Kwadwo Poku earn regular minutes on the wing and a bit further up the field.

Acquiring Harrison, the freshman who terrorized ACC defenses, makes sense only if a current NYCFC midfielder or two are on their way out. Could Diskerud be one of them?

PHILADELPHIA CHOOSES THREE

The Union has had numerous high draft picks in its history but has never been able to establish a core group that could help the franchise become a contender. With three picks in the top 10 this year, the Union was under pressure to get it right. It needed to find a Matt Hedges-type pick—a team leader it could build around in the years ahead.

 

In his first moves as Sporting Director, Earnie Stewart selected central defender Joshua Yaro and right back Keegan Rosenberry with the second and third overall picks. These were not terribly controversial, as both players were consensus top 10 players (although Rosenberry was not expected to go quite so high). The familiarity the two established after playing together at Georgetown University should only help with their transition.

 

While Philadelphia vastly improved its backline with Rosenberry and Yaro, there will be legitimate questions as to why it didn't select Brandon Vincent instead of Rosenberry. Philadelphia needed help across the backline and talented and mature left backs like Vincent are much harder to find in the draft than players in any other position. Was Rosenberry an upgrade for Philadelphia? Yes. But if Vincent's stock continues to soar, Union fans will wonder how he got away.

 

Depite that, Philadelphia is improved and when you throw in German forward Fabian Herbers out of Creighton, taken sixth overall, the Union have three players who will be expected to contribute from day one. With all three playing positions of need, Stewart took his first steps in helping to get this struggling team on the right path.

A YOUNG CHICAGO CORE TAKES SHAPE

New Chicago head coach Vjelko Paunovic told ASN in December that he wanted to build from the backline out, and despite passing on Yaro the team made very smart picks that were aligned with that vision.

Instead of drafting Vincent with the No. 1 pick, the Fire traded down to get him with the fourth while trading Harrison to New York for its draft pick and some allocation money. At No. 12, Chicago then added former U.S U-18 central defender Jonathan Campbell from the University of North Carolina, another player who could potentially start right away.

The result is not only a strong attempt to retool the defense but also an even larger core of young American players on the Fire’s roster, with Vincent, Campbell, Harry Shipp, and Matt Polster. Chicago has disappointed on the field in recent years, but today the club’s fans should feel optimistic for a change.

RAPIDS CONTINUE TO BEWILDER

There is no MLS team more depressing these days than the Colorado Rapids.

While Chicago and Philadelphia lost with young players last season in an effort to rebuild, Colorado lost with older athletes. Promising young talent was either benched or sold. Coach Pablo Mastroeni is back for another season—and it’s not clear where he is taking the team.

The big news out of the draft on Thursday was that Colorado was eyeing United States national team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, and the big news later in the day was that Bedoya was out…and Tim Howard was (ambitiously) the new target. There were also reports that linked the Rapids to Mexican national team forward Alan Pulido. That would, of course, help, but depth is clearly an issue.

The draft did little to assuage those concerns. Colorado traded its second pick for general allocation money and drafted Emmanuel Appiah, a player very similar to Dillon Powers, with the 15th overall selection.

TIMBERS CONTINUE TO RELOAD

A little more than a month has passed since the Timbers won MLS Cup, but what should have its fans feeling upbeat is that despite some players leaving the club is making some shrewd moves. Jorge Villafana, Will Johnson, Maximiliano Urruti, and Gaston Fernandez may all be gone (while Rodney Wallace looks to be on his way out soon), but Portland has been proactive, adding Jack McInerney, Chris Klute, Zarek Valentin, and Jermaine Taylor.

At the draft, the Timbers might have picked up the steal of the first round with British-American forward Ben Polk, 23, whom many expected to be drafted much higher after a strong combine. While he might not start right away, it's easy to see Polk contributing and doing well in his rookie season. It would not be surprising if people later question how he was able to fall to the 20th overall pick. All told, Portland did about as well as a team in its draft situation could have.