Yaya Toure's performances since his return to Pep Guardiola's side in November have earned deserved acclaim - and the Ivorian says he's very much enjoying his football again.

The midfielder - a key figure in Man City’s recent successes - has spoken to the press to quash speculation of a big-money move to China, insisting he wishes to stay at the Etihad Stadium and pay back the Blue faithful.

Quoted in an article on Sky Sports‘ website this morning, Toure declared: “I’ve said before that I’ve been involved with a lot of clubs but, especially at City, I want to give something back to the fans.

“I’d like to continue to work hard for them, keep giving them entertainment, keep them happy - that’s what I want.

“If I was tired, I’d say ‘no more, move on’, but I don’t feel like that. I feel very, very good. I feel young.”

He added: “I always say that if I went to China, I would end up feeling angry there.

“Do you play football because you love football, or do you play because you want to make money? What’s the purpose?

“Me, I just want to play football because I enjoy it, I love playing. I enjoy helping my team-mates, I enjoy playing against the big players and teams. I want to carry on in that way.

“Some people have the mentality that they want to do that, to try something different but, for me, my feeling is that I want to play more football.”

Elsewhere, journalists of the footballing world are clearly fans of our Dugout page because they’ve heard our Spanish wizard’s comments on training and Pep Guardiola’s methodology.

We’ll have more from El Mago in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, as the January transfer window edges nearer to its conclusion, the rumours continue to spread.

According to the Mirror, City are eyeing a move for Bayern Munich’s Juan Bernat.

John Cross claims: “Manchester City boss Guardiola is looking to sign two full backs, a centre half and midfield reinforcements as he looks to overhaul the squad at the Etihad.

“He signed Bernat from Valencia in 2014 and the Spaniard is on City’s radar with him likely to cost in excess of £20m.

“Guardiola is already looking at Southampton centre half Virgil Van Dijk as their centre half signing this summer.

“They are desperate for full backs with Valencia’s Jose Gaya another on City’s list but they will face major competition with Arsenal another club interested.”

Finally, Sport Witness believe the Blues have set their sights on Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam.

Apparently, ‘speaking to Radio CRC, relayed by Napoli Magazine’, Ciro Venerato stated: “Manchester City and Guardiola have had contact with Ghoulam’s entourage.

“It seems the English club is very interested in the Algerian, and if so, it is a club that has a lot of money available and can buy anyone.”

As simple as that, eh?

The article continues: “Presented with a new contract at Napoli, Ghoulam is yet to extend his time with the Serie A side, and Venerato believes Manchester City’s interest is a part of that.”

What do you make of today’s headlines? Tweet us @ManCity!