Report: Manchester City now want to sign 'top class' £67m midfielder after Rodri injury

Manchester City have already been linked with a new midfielder after Rodri hobbled off the pitch during Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

The Spain international is rumoured to be out for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign with suspected cruciate ligament damage, which would be incredibly problematic to Manchester City’s hopes of securing silverware this season.

So, which midfielder are Manchester City looking at after Rodri‘s injury? Let’s take a look…

Manchester City want Nicolo Barella

A story from Inter Live now claims that Pep Guardiola is desperate to sign Nicolo Barella from Inter Milan.

The Italian news outlet believe the Inter Milan No.23 is valued around €80m (£67m) at the San Siro, with Real Madrid and PSG also admirers of the Italy international.

However, Inter Live state that Guardiola has “fallen in love” with Barella, who he considers to be one of the most complete midfielders on the planet, and is desperate to bring the 27-year-old to the Etihad Stadium as soon as possible.

The man from Cagliari has scored one goal and provided one assist in four Serie A appearances this season.

Barella – who Jurgen Klopp also admires, calling the Italian a “top class” footballer – is contracted to Inter Milan until July 2029.

How Inter Milan No.23 performed against Pep Guardiola in the UEFA Champions League final

Barella was named in the starting XI by Simone Inzaghi for the 2023 UEFA Champions League final, which Manchester City won 1-0 thanks to a strike from Rodri.

In our view, this could have been the game where Guardiola fell in love with Barella – who Liverpool have looked at – as he was simply outstanding.

WhoScored shows that the Italian took three shots at Ederson’s goal – no player on the pitch had more – while he also completed 92.1% of his passes in what was a frantic fixture.

Barella was arguably the most impressive midfielder on the pitch that day, and his performance could have fired Inter Milan to European glory, had Romelu Lukaku packed his shooting boots.

Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Manchester City could move to sign the Inter Milan playmaker after losing Rodri to injury.