Manchester City Aims to Sign £50M Porto Midfielder as Rodri Replacement

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is making a third attempt to acquire Porto’s highly-rated midfielder Nico Gonzalez, valued at £50 million, to fill the void left by the injured Rodri. The Spanish Under-21 star has been identified as the solution to City’s midfield problem, with Rodri potentially sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Porto is adamant about not selling Gonzalez unless his £50.15 million release clause is activated. The Portuguese club is in a strong negotiating position and wants the majority of the fee paid upfront, as Barcelona will receive a 40% sell-on fee for the player they sold for nearly £7 million in 2023.

Guardiola has long admired Gonzalez but previously hesitated to pay a significant sum to replace Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, viewing two holding midfielders as unnecessary. However, the City manager is now determined not to let Gonzalez slip away for a third time, having failed to sign him twice before when he was younger.

If the deal goes through, it would increase City’s January transfer window spending to over £173 million, following the acquisitions of Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, and Abdukodir Khusanov.

Manchester City, currently fourth in the Premier League table and 15 points behind leaders Liverpool, will face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in their next match.