Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has openly admitted that he wants to sign a high-quality defensive midfielder in the summer transfer window to keep up his high flying Manchester City squad and is willing to swap Gabriel Jesus for Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodri.
The Blue half of Manchester became the first team in England to complete a domestic treble and under Pep Guardiola; there are talks of this unit being regarded as one of the greatest ever sides to grace the English League. But the 48-year-old Spanish boss has set his sights on the Champions League next season and has made the continental trophy his top priority.
One big area that Guardiola needs to assess for the next campaign is the defensive midfield role that is currently occupied by Brazilian veteran Fernandinho. He is now 34 years old and may not have the legs and ability to carry on in the same manner as he approaches his twilight years.
Guardiola has been keeping tabs on quite a few defensive midfielders around Europe and has identified Atletico Madrid’s Rodri as a most likely replacement for Fernandinho. The 22-year-old Spaniard was sensational in his debut season for Diego Simeone’s side helping the club to a second place finish in the La Liga table.
Atletico Madrid is also looking for a replacement for their departing talisman Antoine Griezmann in the summer transfer window and the rojiblancos will be in dire need of a goalscorer with the 28-year-old likely to join Barcelona. Manchester City is reportedly willing to offload star forward Gabriel Jesus to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in exchange for Rodri.
Jesus has been an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s team over the past two seasons helping Manchester City win back to back Premier League and League Cup titles including the most recent triumph of an FA Cup. The 22-year-old Brazilian Jesus though has been restricted to appearances from the bench because of Sergio Aguero leading the line for Manchester City on a regular basis.
But at the Spanish capital, Jesus could make a name for himself and Rodri’s arrival to the Etihad could be an upgrade over Fernandinho.
