Manchester City travel to Slovakia to face Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, allowing title rivals Liverpool to move into top spot with victory over Wolves.
The match was City’s first since midfielder Rodri was ruled out for several months with a ligament injury, sustained during their draw against Arsenal.
In the wake of that news, City are said to have been quoted a significant amount for one of their midfield transfer targets.
According to Football Insider, the Manchester club have been told that they must pay a fee of around £70 million to land Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella in January.
City are on the hunt for midfield reinforcements after Rodri’s potentially season-ending injury, and Barella has emerged as a target.
Barella is a target for Manchester City
The Italy international is regarded by many as one of the best midfielders in Serie A, but Inter are understandable keen to keep hold of him and will therefore only consider a sale in January if a significant offer is made.
Barella, 27, initially joined Inter on loan from fellow Italian side Cagliari in 2019, before making the switch permanent the following year.
In total he has played 240 times for his current side across all competitions, winning seven trophies including two Series A titles.
Barella’s contract with the Milan side is set to run for almost five more years, which puts Inter under very little pressure to sell any time soon.
Liverpool and Newcastle United have previously been linked with a move for the Italian midfielder, who has been capped 57 times by his country and was part of the squad that won the European Championships in 2020.