Manchester City eye move for £30m-rated Serie A defender

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have earmarked a summer move for Roma defender Antonio Rudiger as the club prepares for a huge summer overhaul, reports The Daily Mirror.

It has been reported that Guardiola is keen to offload up to 18 players at City in the summer following his earliest ever elimination from the Champions League and it has been in defence where his side have really fallen short this season.

City have had scouts at every one of Rudiger’s matches in recent months and they are now ready to firm up their interest with a summer move for the £30m-rated defender, although could face competition from Chelsea.

Rudiger has already shown the ability to play right the way across a back four and it’s versatility like that which will have attracted Guardiola to his services, with the City manager known to change formation regularly.

Roma made the decision to make Rudiger’s switch from Germany permanent in 2015 and now the Germany international could be about to make a big money switch to the Premier League having been subject to interest from England for the last few years.

No Roma player commits more fouls per game in Serie A this season than Rudiger (1.9).

For more stats on Antonio Rudiger, click here to visit his WhoScored player page