Rodrigo has told Atletico Madrid he wants to leave the club this summer and Manchester City are in pole position for his signature, claims The Daily Mail.
Pep Guardiola has earmarked Rodrigo as his ideal long-term replacement for Fernandinho and is desperate to get a deal over the line before next season.
The Spain international has now told Atletico of his desire to leave the club for the second time in his career to provide City with a huge boost.
Bayern Munich are also keen on the Spanish midfielder but the 22-year-old’s preference is to play for Guardiola.
City have made it clear they will match Rodrigo’s £62.5m release clause and are now free to discuss personal terms with the midfielder.
Guardiola plans to use Rodrigo and Ilkay Gundogan as the holding midfielder, while managing Fernandinho’s game time.
Fernandinho will almost certainly miss the start of next season due to his commitments with Brazil at this summer’s Copa America.
Only Antoine Griezmann (7.29) garnered a better WhoScored rating (5+ appearances) than Rodrigo (7.24) of all Atletico players in La Liga last season.
Furthermore, the Spaniard, who has been tipped as Sergio Busquets’ heir for the national team, completed 91.1% of his passes in the league last term.
