Manchester City may have to sell star name to land top target Rodrigo

Manchester City are on course to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo but may have to let a star name go in the other direction, claims The Sun.

Pep Guardiola wants to sign Fernandinho’s long-term replacement this summer and has identified Rodrigo as his top transfer target.

The Spain international only re-signed for Atletico last summer but is reportedly contemplating his future at the club.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona are keeping tabs on the 22-year-old but City are the frontrunners for his signature and have reportedly even offered the midfielder personal terms.

Atletico are bracing themselves for a challenging summer with star striker Antoine Griezmann expected to join Barcelona after confirming his intentions to leave.

With Diego Costa also on course to leave Atletico this summer, Diego Simeone faces the prospect of overhauling his offensive options before the start of next season.

The Atletico boss has earmarked Gabriel Jesus as his top transfer target to replace Griezmann and wants the striker included in part of a deal that would see Rodrigo move in the opposite direction.

Jesus is a fan favourite at City but struggled for regular playing time this season after dropping below Sergio Aguero in the pecking order.

The Brazil international offered a reminder of his qualities in City’s 6-0 win over Watford in Saturday’s FA Cup final and is unlikely to settle for another season on the bench next term.

Jesus made 29 league appearances for City this season but only eight of those were starts. As a result of making so many appearances from the bench, only Phil Foden (6.52) garnered a lower WhoScored rating in the league than Jesus of all City players.

Despite struggling for regular minutes, Jesus was still a regular contributor when called on, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in the league.

When excluding his appearances as a substitute, the 22-year-old was actually the fifth highest WhoScored rated player (5+ starts) in the Premier League (7.58).

Guardiola has already revealed some players will leave the club this summer but it remains to be seen whether he would sanction Jesus’ departure, paritucarly as Aguero turns 31 next month.