Gareth Taylor firm on Chloe Kelly's Man City future amid Man Utd rumours

Gareth Taylor has responded to rumours that out of favour forward Chloe Kelly could depart Manchester City during the January transfer window.

Following reports that Kelly is open to a loan move to rivals Manchester United for the remainder of the Women's Super League season, Taylor said the club "are not aware" of the speculation surrounding her.

Derby day disaster saw City bow-out of the contest at Etihad Stadium, as United claimed local bragging rights in a 4-2 victory. The side will be forced to bounce-back from the loss in preparation for a rematch in the Subway Women's League Cup on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to media, Taylor confirmed that Kelly is "unlikely to be available" for the fixture due to an ankle injury sustained during training last weekend.

Despite the rumours that her omission may be linked to a potential departure from the club, the head coach confirmed the England international is "still our player until we hear otherwise".

Taylor added: "When players are here, they are here. They are Manchester City players until otherwise, and that's the same with Chloe. If nothing changes in this window then she remains a Manchester City player. There is a lot of speculation around her, and we are just dealing with whats in front of us."

In other squad news, Taylor confirmed that star forward Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw is nearing a return to action, but will remain unavailable for the midweek fixture.

"She will probably be [available] for the weekend against Villa," confirmed Taylor. "She has been a big loss to us, she obviously has a big impact on the team. Once we get Bunny back, that's really going to help Viv [Miedema] and the other options we have at the top-end of the pitch."

Naomi Layzell has been missing in action after suffering an ankle injury against Barcelona on matchday one of the UEFA Women's Champions League. Taylor told 90min that Layzell is "close" to a return, but not quite ready.

"It's quite a frustrating one with Naomi because she's come close, and then not been able to tick off those last checks," he explained. "It's close, hopefully after the latest meeting that she's had with the specialist, she can now step forward and get back into the training group with us.

"She's done a lot of work in the background, and hopefully when we get the all clear for her to rejoin the group, we can start implementing her back in the team."

City will remain without Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, who are "in a good place" despite facing a lengthy period on the sidelines.

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