Manchester City are exploring a potential loan deal for Douglas Luiz as the Premier League champions continue to weigh up their midfield options this month.

Pep Guardiola has been short of quality cover in the No 6 position since Rodri was ruled out for the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in September, while Mateo Kovacic has also wrestled with injury problems.

City are keen admirers of the Atalanta and Brazil defensive midfielder Ederson but, with little prospect of getting the 25-year-old out of the Serie A title contenders in this month’s window, the club have been looking at other possibilities.

Luiz, 26, has struggled for playing time at Juventus having failed to make much of an impact since arriving from Aston Villa for £42 million last summer, and is thought to be available this month.

Juventus are believed to favour an outright sale or a loan with an obligation to buy but City want a straight loan with no clauses attached if they were to do something.

Luiz is not necessarily City’s first option, with the club looking at a number of players, but the Brazilian is known to them, having been on their books between 2017 and 2019 and is Premier League proven.

It is not certain City will sign a midfielder this month but if they do they would want someone who could hit the ground running. City like Juventus left-back Andrea Cambiaso but they are not expected to try to progress a deal this month.

Luiz, who has previously been linked with Arsenal, joined City from Vasco da Gama in 2017 but spent two seasons on loan at sister club Girona in Spain amid work permit issues in the UK. He spent five seasons at Villa during which time he scored 22 goals in 204 appearances for the Midlands club.

Marmoush close to medical as City splurge £120m

City’s 6-0 win at Ipswich Town on Sunday moved Guardiola’s side back into the top four and the manager would like the right midfield reinforcement this month if possible, in addition to the club’s other transfer moves.

Egypt forward Omar Marmoush is scheduled to arrive in Manchester in the next 24 hours ahead of a medical as City look to wrap up his projected £59 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt. City are also in the process of signing the centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis from Lens and Palmeiras respectively for £33.6 million and £29.4 million.

City club captain Kyle Walker is hoping that a proposed move to AC Milan progresses this week although City had still to receive a formal offer from the Italian club as of Monday morning.

“Everyone knows that Walker is a great player, he did great things at City,” Milan’s senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic told DAZN when asked about Walker before Saturday’s defeat by Juventus.

“When there is someone like him on the market, there is a lot of interest. It doesn’t go against our vision, because he is strong, he is a leader, he has dominance in the dressing room. Now we are checking if it is possible.

“We talk to [coach Sergio] Conceicao every day, to have a dialogue with him and understand what he likes and what he doesn’t like. We know what is needed and now we work. The team is strong. What do we need? In the transfer market, the more I say it, the more it costs, better not to say it.

“The team, as I said, is already strong. We showed in the Super Cup that it is a team that can win, now we need continuity.”