Report: Manchester City huge favourites to land Rodrigo but may have to part with Gabriel Jesus

According to The Sun, Manchester City are favourites to land Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo ahead of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, provided they can let Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus go in the opposite direction as part of the deal.

Manager Pep Guardiola sees the Spain international as the perfect long-term replacement for veteran holding midfielder Fernandinho, and the La Liga side won’t hesitate to sanction a summer sale once his £65million release clause is met.

Diego Simeone’s side are set to lose Antoine Griezmann in a £110million summer move to Barcelona, and they want Jesus to replace him, two years after losing the battle for his signature for City.

The 22-year-old started just eight Premier League games in 2018-19 as he continues to play second fiddle to Sergio Aguero, and with Guardiola keen on moving for another striker this summer, the Brazilian could fancy his chances of becoming the main man at Atletico.

Jesus ended the campaign with 21 goals across all competitions as City secured an unprecedented domestic treble, and losing him will be a big blow.

It remains to be seen if Pep will be open to letting him go in order to secure Rodrigo’s signature, and it will be interesting to see how things go in the coming weeks.