Manchester City ready to pay €70m release clause for Atlético Madrid’s Rodri

Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Rodri from Atlético Madrid after indicating that they are prepared to pay the Spain midfielder’s €70m release clause. The Premier League champions have also opened talks with Juventus to sign Portugal full-back João Cancelo.

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The 22-year-old is understood to have informed Atlético that he would favour a transfer this summer, with City now in pole position to sign a player identified as Pep Guardiola’s preferred central midfield target. Rodri’s representatives have already held talks with City over personal terms, with the former Villarreal player believed to be weighing up his options amid interest from Bayern Munich.

Born in Madrid, Rodri was released from Atlético’s youth system as a teenager but returned last summer for just €20m. Diego Simeone’s side are hoping to sign Marcos Llorente from Real Madrid as his replacement for €40m.

Meanwhile, City are confident they will sign Cancelo from the Italian champions after offering around €45m for the 25-year-old defender. Guardiola is keen to bring in the former Benfica player to add competition for Kyle Walker at right-back, while Manchester United have also shown interest in a player who Juventus value at closer to €60m.

City have proposed including Brazilian defender Danilo as part of the deal, although the Italian champions are understood to prefer alternative replacements.