Welcome to the latest edition of the City Is Ours daily round-up, where we take a look at some of the best Manchester City stories you might have missed.
Having just scored 11 goals in a week, City's quest for a striker continues to dominate the back pages - of course, it does, after all, the few weeks prior to the opening of the January transfer window is one of the most bizarre periods in the footballing calendar.
Pep Guardiola is reportedly ready to try and lure Erling Haaland to the Etihad Stadium but the City boss has also been handed a boost in his quest for another of his reported striker targets.
Aymeric Laporte's City career looked to be over earlier this year and despite seeing far more game time this season he's yet again been linked with a move away.
And finally, there aren't many things City's players are bad at, including naming their pets. Both Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva have recently revealed the quirky names of their dogs and John Stones looks set to continue the trend.
Lift-off for Haaland?
It wouldn't be a daily round-up without a bit of Haaland gossip, would it?
The Norwegian goal machine is on the shopping list of just about every elite club in Europe but City could be about to hit the front in the race to secure his signature.
Bild claim (via Sport Witness ) that the reigning Premier League champions are 'ready to pay' Haaland's reported €75million (63.3m) release clause, though they add that Borussia Dortmund are keen to hold talks with the youngster in January with a view to extending his stay at the club.
Our view: Someone could send me a picture of Haaland standing next to Txiki Begiristain holding a City shirt and I still wouldn't believe he'd signed.
This one is going to rumble on for a long time yet and, while he'd obviously be an incredible signing, I'm not getting my hopes up just yet.
Vlahovic boost for Pep?
Another striker understood to be on City's radar is Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbian frontman looks to be a backup option should City fail to sign Haaland and it seems he's now taken one step closer to the Fiorentina exit door.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed in a tweet on Wednesday that Fiorentina have thrashed out a deal with Lille for France international Jonathan Ikone.
An initial fee of €14m (£11.8m) will be paid to the Ligue 1 side, meaning Fiorentina may be open to cutting ties with Vlahovic in January given he'll have just 12 months remaining on his deal in the summer and they could be forced to sell for a cut-price fee.
Our view: Vlahovic's record in Italy is sensational but Haaland needs to remain the priority.
If City miss out on the Dortmund striker then I certainly wouldn't be against a move for Vlahovic but the Serbian's potential January availability can't hinder their Haaland chase.
Aymeric Laporte snubs Joan Laporta
Laporte and Laporta sounds like the evolution of a Pokemon.
The City defender has had a turbulent time at the club of late having looked set to leave following the emergence of Stones and Ruben Dias' partnership.
The Spain international has seen a lot more game time this season but that hasn't stopped Barcelona from monitoring his situation in Manchester.
El Nacional claim Barca are interested in signing Laporte but the 27-year-old isn't interested in a switch to Camp Nou.
Our view: Given the speculation over Nathan Ake's future at City, I'd be very worried if Laporte was sold.
Guardiola seems to have struck a nice balance in terms of keeping Stones, Dias and Laporte happy by offering them regular game time. Being able to call upon the services of three top-class centre-backs is a luxury very few clubs in Europe can boast.
Stones and Pebbles
Right, enough of all this serious transfer nonsense, let's talk about dogs.
Foden cemented his place in the hearts of City fans even further when he revealed his dog was called Carabao, though Bernardo's revelation that his dog is called John after his teammate Stones is a pretty decent effort as well.
Stones recently appeared on the viral YouTube series Chicken Shop Date (I assume this is some programme the kids watch because I've absolutely no idea) and he told host Amelia Dimoldenberg that he already had a name in mind for his next dog.
“I’ll call it 'Pebbles', my next pet," he said.
Pebbles. And Stones. Stones and Pebbles. They're both like little rock things. It's a funny pun. Ahh forget it, I knew we shouldn't have bothered mentioning this.
Do you think Haaland will sign for City? Follow City Is Ours content editor Ross Jackson on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
