Man City have stunning £85m Rodri replacement in their sights as alternative transfer proposed

Manchester City are reportedly ready to sign a replacement for Rodri - and are pushing hard to sign their preferred candidate.

Enzo Maresca has been appointed as the new City head coach after Pep Guardiola brought his decade-long stint in charge to an end at the end of last summer.

Elliot Anderson was the first signing of the Maresca era, with the midfielder arriving from Nottingham Forest in an English-record £116 million deal at the beginning of July.

Anderson, who completed his medical while on England duty at the World Cup, was followed into the Etihad Stadium by Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles and 16-year-old Leicester winger Jeremy Monga.

The arrival of Charles, who came through City's academy, could pave the way for James Trafford to leave the club, while Monga may have to bide his time in competing for a first team place.

City's next target is said to be in midfield, with The Athletic reporting that they are stepping up their pursuit of Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

The 18-year-old, who came through Lille's youth academy, has been one of the breakout stars of the World Cup with Morocco after switching his international allegiance from France weeks before the tournament.

READ MORE: Ayyoub Bouaddi turns back on France as allegiance switch confirmed ahead of World Cup

He helped Morocco to reach the quarter-finals, where they were defeated 2-0 by France.

Ayyoub Bouaddi captained France at youth levels before switching allegiance to Morocco (Image: Getty)

The Athletic report that a number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, are interested in signing Bouaddi, but that City would offer the prospect of immediate first team football.

Perhaps notably, the report claims that Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain are not interested in adding Bouaddi to their core of home-grown talent at this stage, which will no doubt boost the prospects other clubs have of signing the young midfielder.

But one stumbling block is the price, with suggestions that Lille will demand €100 million (around £85m) to sell their prized asset at such an early stage of his career.

His arrival at City would slightly ease fears over the future of Rodri, who is out of contract next summer and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Man City plan crunch Rodri talks

According to TEAMtalk, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez views Rodri as having the 'on-pitch coach' qualities possessed by the likes of the club's previous midfield generals Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

He is said to be seen as a player who is 'capable of dictating games while also driving standards around him' - a factor that will become even more important following the arrival of Jose Mourinho as manager.

It had previously been reported that Mourinho had insisted on a series of demands to be met for him to return to the Bernabeu for a second spell, including tighter control over the dressing room.

READ MORE: Jose Mourinho's 10 major demands as he opens talks for Real Madrid return

TEAMtalk claim that Manchester City sporting director Hugo Viana and manager Maresca are planning to hold talks with Rodri in August, once he returns from the World Cup with Spain, to come to a conclusion over his short and long-term future at the club.