Roberto Mancini does not want to sign Luis Suarez

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has denied interest in Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and says he does not intend to sign any players in January.

Suarez, 25, has been linked with a move to the Premier League champions.

Mancini, who walked into his pre-Aston Villa news conference wearing a mask of his assistant David Platt, says he is happy with the squad he has.

"We have a good team and don't need to buy any players in January," he said.

"We can't buy Suarez or another player because we have four strikers and Suarez plays for Liverpool."

Mancini missed news conferences before and after last Saturday's 2-1 win against Tottenham, with Platt speaking on his behalf on those occasions.

Consequently, he chose to wear a mask of the former England international on Friday as a nod to that.

Mancini also explained that he did not include Mario Balotelli in his squad to face Tottenham last weekend due to disappointing performances from the striker in training.

"Mario didn't play because it was my choice," said the Italian.

"I have 20 players and if there are some players that don't work well, they don't deserve to play.

"There were other players that worked better than Mario and they deserve to go on the bench."