According to high level reports on Friday evening (the 24th of July), Real Madrid are working on the signing of World Cup winner Rodri from Manchester City.
In recent weeks, the most mentioned name when it comes to Real Madrid and the summer transfer market is that of Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
At first, it appeared that, whilst the player seemed keen on a move to Real Madrid - and we know he had made no secret of this during the March international break - Florentino Perez did not seem to reciprocate the same feelings.
Well, in recent days, that changed. As we aggregated earlier on this week, Perez seems to have changed his mind, and agrees with others at the club that the signing of Rodri is necessary.
It seems as if another step has been taken now. Indeed so, as David Ornstein and Mario Cortegana of The Athletic are reporting that Real Madrid are “working on a deal” to sign Rodri.
They state that whilst the two clubs are not yet in talks, Los Blancos are now operating on the basis that the 30-year old joins this summer. City hope that he will stay with or without signing a new contract (his current deal is set to expire next summer).
In their report, it is also mentioned that the club changed their mind on the signing after the World Cup, so clearly the final was enough to sway them. There is “confidence that an agreement can be reached”, whilst City continue to work on an extension.
Very interesting stuff indeed. First and foremost, a positive update. That much is clear, it does not mean that he will sign. It does not guarantee anything. But it does feel like a positive and progressive update on things. When The Athletic report on something, you know it is serious. This isn't like Fabrizio Romano reporting on anything and everything.
The fact that, as previously discussed, he only has a year left on his contract feels huge. With that and his age, City do not have loads of power in negotiations, you would like to think. Perhaps it would be different if Rodri himself did not seem so set on the move, because in that scenario, perhaps they would feel confident of a renewal.
But with the World Cup winner seemingly so keen to move to the Spanish capital, it feels unlikely that he would extend his contract, and therefore they would risk losing him on a free transfer next summer. Let's see what happens in the coming days and weeks ahead.
