Guardiola denies Man City spent big due to fears of transfer ban

LONDON: Pep Guardiola denied Friday that Manchester City spent big in January in case the club are hit with a transfer embargo for alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.

City splashed out around £170 million ($211 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez before Monday´s transfer deadline.

They are much-needed reinforcements for a side who are well off the pace in the Premier League and who just scraped into the Champions League play-offs. Guardiola, whose side meet third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, was asked whether the club´s striking outlay was triggered by the possibility they would be hit by a transfer ban.