Man City plot bold January move for Brazil star that could fill Rodri void as Newcastle United eye £50m move for ‘dream target

Halloween and Bonfire Night are in the book for another year and for most people interest now turns to writing up their Christmas lists. But for football managers around Europe their focus is instead set on the next big event in the calendar… the January sales.

The winter window comes half way through the Premier League season and is often a period that can either make a team’s campaign or break their hopes of success depending on who they can bring in or keep a hold of.

In Manchester City’s case the 2025 January transfer window could prove to be one of the biggest of Pep Guardiola’s tenure to date as he scours the market to find a replacement for his midfield orchestrator Rodri, who is set to miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

The Spanish international is very much seen as the glue of Manchester City’s midfield and his ability to win possession with ease, control the ball on the half turn, and quickly start attacks has often been the catalyst for his team’s success - both at club level - where he lifted a fourth league title in a row - and at international level, where he recently became a European champion.

Rodri recently became just the first Spanish footballer to win the Ballon d’Or since Luis Suarez in 1960 and just the third to win the award while playing in the Premier League after Michael Owen (2001) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2008).

When he plays Manchester City typically win and he boasts a record of just 74% while without him this record drops by more than 10%.

Rodri picked up an injury during Manchester City’s recent draw with Arsenal and in recent weeks the cracks in the middle have begun to show, with the champions losing three consecutive games in all competitions, including a notable 4-1 humbling away to Sporting in the Champions League.

Bernardo Silva said after last week’s game that the team we’re in a dark place, and according to I News, Pep Guardiola is looking to get his team out of the shadows with a move for Brazilian defensive midfielder Ederson, who has been in sensational form for Italian side Atalanta in recent years.

The outlet understands that Manchester City are willing to spend big on the 25-year-old, who recently helped Atalanta to Europa League glory with a string of excellent performances.

3AM verdict: Whether it is Sergio Busquets at Barcelona, Joshua Kimmich and Phillip Lahm at Bayern Munich or Fernandinho and Rodri at Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s teams often function best when they have a top-class defensive midfielder running the strings.

Ederson has shown signs that player since joining Atalanta in 2022 and would likely have the legs to play the role better than Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic, who are both more suited to playing slightly further forward at this stage of their careers.

Newcastle United plot £50m move for Premier League winger

Newcastle United were one of the great attacking teams in the Premier League last season with 85 goals, which is more than even Kevin Keegan’s ‘entertainers’ managed in 1996.

However, this season goals have been much less frequent with the Magpies scoring just 10 goals in their opening 10 games - 17 less than they had managed at this stage last season.

The likes of Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes have both provided goals and assists from the left hand side of the front three, while Alexander Isak after a slow start with a broken toe, is now finding his best form with three goals in his last three games.

But the area of the pitch which remains under the microscope is the right hand side of attack where both Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron have both failed to score.

This lack of output, naturally, has led to speculation linking Newcastle United with a host of right wingers, but the name that doesn’t seem to be going in way in recent months is Bryan Mbeumo, who according to The Athletic was on a three-man shortlist of players that the club was interested in alongside Anthony Elanga of Nottingham Forest and Michael Olise who ultimately completed a move to Bayern Munich.

Football Insider understands that Newcastle are willing to make a bid of upwards of £50m to secure the services of Mbeumo, who has scored a staggering nine goals in 11 matches this season.

3AM verdict: While both Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy have been good servants to Newcastle United in recent seasons it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Magpies need more output in that area of the pitch if they are to achieve their goals of returning back into the Champions League qualification zone.

In Bryan Mbeumo, Newcastle would have a player capable of injecting a fresh sense of pace and energy into the frontline while most importantly offering goals and assists. 

Given that he is 25-years-old, with significant time to improve, bang in form, and capable of playing both as a winger and even as a striker he seems an obvious solution to Newcastle’s problems. However, getting him over the line could be a tricky proposition in a notoriously difficult window with PSR sanctions looming if they overspend.