Manchester City are interested in signing an “aggressive” £60m midfielder to replace the injured Rodri, according to a fresh transfer update.

Man City without injured Rodri as they beat Fulham

Pep Guardiola’s side won 3-2 at home to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, as they bounced back from their failure to win at Newcastle United last time around in the competition.

It wasn’t wholly convincing from City, however, who looked susceptible to the counter-attack at times, and there is no doubt that they are missing the vast influence of Rodri at the base of the midfield. The Spaniard is out for the season with an ACL injury, in what has the potential to be a defining moment in the campaign, giving Liverpool and Arsenal fresh hope in the title race.

The Spaniard was on a remarkable run of 52 matches unbeaten before having to go off against Arsenal last month, highlighting what a huge loss he is going to be in the coming months.

While City’s other midfielders are superb in their own right, from Ilkay Gundogan to Mateo Kovacic, none can do such a world-class job in front of the defence, so it is no surprise that Guardiola is eyeing a tailor-made replacement in the January transfer window.

Man City keen on signing “aggressive” midfielder

According to Football Transfers, Manchester City are eyeing a move to sign Porto midfielder Alan Varela, seeing him as an ideal replacement for the stricken Rodri.

The Premier League champions are “keeping a close eye” on the 23-year-old, recently sending scouts to watch him in action. He has a reported clause in his contract that would make him available for £60m.

Varela is arguably exactly what City are crying out for without Rodri around, even if they already have a wealth of talented midfield options at their disposal.

As mentioned, Rodri’s expertise in a defensive sense cannot be matched by anyone else at the Etihad, but Varela has mastered a similar role for Porto, being hailed by former Wolves ace Ruben Neves, who has said of him:

“He is an excellent player. It was an excellent signing for Porto, perhaps the team’s most regular reinforcement in terms of time and quality of play. He is extremely aggressive, is always very well positioned in defensive balances and, lately, he has been getting a little further forward, making his passing and finishing ability count.”

This season, Varela has started all seven of Porto’s seven Primeira Liga matches, completing 92.2% of his passes to outline what a technically gifted player he is. He has also averaged 1.4 tackles and clearances per match as well, showing that he is also an effective presence off the ball.

Admittedly, the Argentine is still a work in progress, not proving to be as complete as Rodri – he is still awaiting his debut at senior international level – but everything points towards him being a shrewd choice to fill the void in January, and even possibly going on to be a long-term replacement further down the line.