Man City ready ‘monstrous investment’ for versatile £42m Inter Milan star as Rodri fears confirmed

Manchester City are reportedly preparing a ‘monstrous investment’ for Hakan Calhanoglu, as it’s believed £42million could land them the versatile Inter Milan midfielder in the absence of injured Rodri.

City saw Rodri go down injured during their 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the weekend. It was initially reported by some outlets that he’d be out for the season, but City sent him to Spain to assess the damage before confirming such.

In the meantime, they have been on the hunt for defensive-midfielders to fill the void, with the best case being the Spaniard missing a few months.

The latest links are with Inter Milan’s Calhanoglu, as per Inter Live.

It’s believed Pep Guardiola ‘could’ focus on the midfielder, given Rodri has indeed been confirmed to be out for the season. The suggestion is that City could move for Calhanoglu in January, to cover for the injured midfielder.

The report states that €50million (£42m, $56m) will see him sign for City.

As such, they are preparing a ‘monstrous investment’ for the midfielder.

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Guardiola confirms Rodri fate

Guardiola confirmed on Friday that Rodri will in fact miss the rest of the campaign.

“He had surgery this morning, ACL and some meniscus,” he told a press conference.

“Next season he will be here. This season is over [for him]. It is what it is.

“Unfortunately, we got the worst [news] but it is what it is at this level. Sometimes, unfortunately, it happens. We are just there to support him and [help him make a] good recovery, step by step, and move forward.

“What he gives us, we don’t have a similar player but the other players altogether can replace what Rodri has given since arriving here with us.”

City eyeing more midfielders

Calhanoglu is not the only holding-midfielder who City are looking to sign in the wake of Rodri’s injury.

TEAMtalk understands that Nicolo Barella, Adam Wharton, Martin Zubimendi and Ederson are all on their shortlist.

There was reported competition from United for Barella, but Fabrizio Romano has poured cold water on that rumour.

Elsewhere, City are said to be ready to beat some Premier League rivals to the snare of right-back Jeremie Frimpong, who’d be the long-term replacement for Kyle Walker.

The full-back came through the ranks in City’s academy before moving elsewhere.

Where can Calhanoglu play

The signing of Calhanoglu would be ideal not just for his capabilities in defensive-midfield, but elsewhere, too.

The Inter man has shown his adaptability, given he has only recently dropped into a holding role, after playing a lot of his career in more advanced positions.

According to Transfermarkt, he has only played 72 of his north of 500 appearances as a holding-midfielder.

He played more than 100 times as an attacking-midfielder, and another 126 as a genuine box-to-box midfielder.

The Turkey international has also been deployed out on the left-wing on 95 occasions, and has made a smattering of appearances elsewhere.

As such, while he could fill the void left by Rodri from January, he could cover a variety of positions once he is back in the mix.