Manchester City secured a much-needed 2-1 victory over Burnley on Monday to get themselves back into the Premier League title race.

Pep Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 at Liverpool on New Year’s Eve to put a dent in their title aspirations, but got back to winning ways as goals from Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero overcame the stubborn Clarets.

It means that City are fourth in the table following their 13th win of the campaign, and coupled with Chelsea’s loss at Tottenham on Wednesday, it means that Guardiola’s men are just seven points behind the league leaders with 18 games to play.

They will put their Premier League campaign to one side this weekend when they travel to West Ham in the third round of the FA Cup on Friday, with the Citizens looking to regain the title they won back in 2011.

Nonetheless, their recent league struggles, which saw them lose three times in December, could tempt Guardiola to act in the transfer window and bring in reinforcements ready for the second half of the season.

City have had mixed success in the winter window since it was introduced back in 2003, and here are their TOP THREE worst January signings in the past 14 years…

Wayne Bridge

Manchester City spent £10 million on Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge in January 2009, but he only really had 18 decent months at the Etihad.

The former England international made 22 appearances in the second half of the 2008/09 campaign, before making 28 in his first full campaign the season after.

However, his performances obviously did very little for manager Roberto Mancini, as the Italian brought in Aleksandar Kolarov in the summer of 2010, and then Gael Clichy from Arsenal a year later.

Bridge then spent time on loan at West Ham, Sunderland, and Brighton before signing for Championship side Reading on a one-year deal, and then retiring from the game in 2014.

Djamel Abdoun

It’s unlikely that many Manchester City fans will remember Djamel Abdoun, but he played for the club all the way back in 2007.

The Algerian international, who is currently on the books at Greek side Veria, moved to City on loan in January 2007 from French outfit Ajaccio, but never made a Premier League appearance for the Citizens in his six-month stay at the club.

In fact, Abdoun only played once for City, and that was for just a few minutes after coming off the bench in their 3-1 victory over Southampton in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Unsurprisingly, City did not take up the option of a permanent deal at the end of the season.

Georgios Samaras

Manchester City secured a £6 million deal for Heerenveen striker Georgios Samaras back in January 2006, which at the time was a record for a Greek player.

However, he didn’t really repay his fee while at the Etihad Stadium, as he found the net just 12 times in 64 games for the club.

Samaras appeared in all but three of their 38 Premier League matches in the 2007/08 campaign, but City’s lack of goals (they netted a league low 29 goals that season) somewhat reflected Samaras’ deficiencies as a forward.

The Greek international moved to Celtic in 2008 and had seven successful seasons north of the border, before trying again in the Premier League with West Brom in 2014, again though to no avail.