Manchester City are pursuing a deadline day deal for Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez - but are baulking at paying the reported £60million release clause in the 23-year-old's contract.

Gonzalez has risen to the top of City's wishlist with Ederson at Atalanta unobtainable this month and Juventus not keen on sanctioning a Blues loan move for Douglas Luiz without an obligation to buy.

City's poor run of form, which was heightened by the 5-1 thrashing at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, has accelerated the need for reinforcements in the middle of the park with talisman Rodri sidelined for the season.

City have had a longstanding interest in former Barcelona man Gonzalez but are reluctant to stump up the fee required to prise him from Porto. The Blues are hoping to negotiate a lower price for the midfielder in a bid to add to their squad before the window shuts at 11pm on Monday night.

City generally do not like conducting business in the January window, believing it is a tough time to get top targets at reasonable prices. But the slump in form has already seen them splash more than £120million on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

In an ideal world City would wait until the summer before adding a midfielder, with the prospects of securing a move for Ederson increasing once the season is over. But the poor form, upcoming schedule and impact of the weekend defeat to the Gunners means they may be tempted into spending big in the final hours of the window.

At the start of the campaign Guardiola felt his squad had enough quality to challenge on all fronts this season but the Etihad chief has since accepted that signings are necessary to help arrest the slide in form.

Gonzalez only joined Porto 18 months ago having come through the ranks at Barcelona. He made 12 league starts for the Catalan club but struggled to break into the side on a consistent basis. He has made 24 appearances for Porto this season, scoring six goals.