Man City have the ideal £50m transfer replacement they didn't buy in the summer

Manchester City didn't sign a replacement in the summer in a key position and have struggled as a result - but now they may have found a perfect alternative for around £50m.

City fans and anyone else with an opinion have been calling for the Blues to sign a Rodri replacement (or back-up) and a defensive midfielder is high up the January shopping list. It's a tough search, though, as whoever is signed will need to get the Blues out of a hole this season then drop to the bench next season as a reward when Rodri is back.

As Pep Guardiola has always said, maybe the best way to replace Rodri is to not replace him at all. With everyone fit, Mateo Kovacic can patrol the holding areas with support from Rico Lewis, John Stones and Manu Akanji. The problem has been keeping those inverted players fit, with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva having to drop back and help instead.

In turn, that takes away some much-needed links to Erling Haaland, forcing City to go wide to find the striker, with mixed results from their wingers and a Haaland who was growing increasingly isolated during the bad run.

Ederson of Atalanta is a name linked to solve the defensive midfield issue, although there are complications with signing him in January - not least because Atalanta have two key Champions League fixtures left and he is integral to their chances of making the knockout stages (and the lucrative prize money that comes with it).

Then there is Omar Marmoush, a prolific striker for Eintracht Frankfurt who isn't a Rodri replacement at all. Frankfurt are reluctant to sell in January, but a figure of around £50m has been mooted and there is excitement in his native Egypt over a big money move to City this month.

He would add another striking option