Man City pick preferred Rodri replacement but January deal will cost them £75m

Manchester City have identified Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella as their top choice to replace injured midfielder Rodri.

Rodri, who is often hailed as the world's most complete central midfielder, has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a torn ACL sustained in a match against Arsenal.

The 27-year-old Barella has emerged as the prime candidate to fill the gap left by Rodri's absence.

City boss Pep Guardiola had already taken note of the Serie A player even before Rodri's unfortunate injury last Sunday.

Barella, an Italian international with 57 caps, put on an impressive performance during Inter's goalless Champions League tie at the Etihad just 12 days ago.

His performance was so outstanding that it left Guardiola singing his praises to the club's football hierarchy.

The English champions have since found out that it would cost them at least £75million to lure Barella away from Inter in January.

Despite Barella signing a new contract with Inter this summer - which effectively ended Manchester United's interest in him - it seems unlikely that he would try to force a move away from the club.

However, after a relatively quiet summer transfer window, City have a £100m transfer budget to spend in the New Year, giving them the financial muscle to seriously challenge Inter's determination to keep their player.

On Friday, Guardiola confirmed that the club will continue to explore their options over the next few months as they search the market.

This will certainly involve closely monitoring Barella's performance for the Serie A title holders in the run-up to Christmas.