Exclusive: Man City considering €70m transfer to save their season after falling 5 points behind Liverpool | OneFootball

Manchester City have just lost four games in a row for the first time in the Pep Guardiola era and it seems pretty clear something needs to change as quickly as possible.

We all knew Rodri was important to this Man City side, but the impact his absence through injury has had will have taken even the Spanish midfielder’s biggest admirers by surprise.

Sources have now informed CaughtOffside that City are ready to enter the market for a major midfield signing to replace Rodri this January, with Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde lined up by the Premier League champions.

City’s latest defeat to Brighton has seen them fall five points behind league leaders Liverpool, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that the club are now prepared to pay big to try to turn their season around.

Federico Valverde in action for Real Madrid (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Real Madrid won’t want to let Valverde go, but CaughtOffside understands City could try offering as much as €70m for the Uruguay international this January.

Can Manchester City convince Real Madrid to sell Federico Valverde?

Valverde, however, has a release clause of €1bn, so it could take a lot more than €70m to convince the Spanish giants to let such an important player go.

The 26-year-old remains a key part of Carlo Ancelotti’s side, and given that Los Blancos are having a challenging season themselves, it seems highly unlikely they’d be willing to sell anyone as important as this in the middle of the season.

City may need to look elsewhere for Rodri replacements, but it does seem like they’re going to have to find someone, as the 28-year-old, who recently won the prestigious Ballon d’Or prize, is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Liverpool might not be able to maintain their fast start under Arne Slot, but for now they have a pretty comfortable lead over City, and so that could require urgent action at the Etihad Stadium.

It’s unlikely there’ll be anyone out there who can fully replace what Rodri brings to Guardiola’s side, but City need someone of that ilk to come in or else they’re surely going to be out of the title race completely before too long.