Man City are ready to make Rodri the club’s highest-paid player to ward off Real Madrid, SunSport's Phil Thomas has exclusively report.
Pep Guardiola’s champions want to double the Spain midfielder’s wages to £375,000 a week to extend his Etihad stay.
And City could finance the deal by asking Kevin De Bruyne to restructure his pay packet with a lower basic salary but earn lucrative bonuses in a new long-term contract.
Rodri, 28, still has nearly three years left on his deal but City are keen to open talks and tie down the talismanic Euro 2024 winner sooner rather than later.
He has admitted Spain’s contingent of Real players tried to tempt him into signing for the giants at this summer’s tournament.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has claimed that striker Jhon Duran - who scored the winning goal at West Ham yesterday - is staying at the club.
Duran had been linked with moves away from Villa Park all summer, most notably to Chelsea.
Emery said: “We believe in him and his potential.
"We are open to working with him like he did today, helping the team, being available when we need him and today he was fantastic.
"With Watkins not feeling 100 per cent we prepared the plan for today to use both players over 90 minutes.
"Always I am very committed with him to get the best out of him as a player and even as a person. Some mistakes we have to accept and of course not repeat it."
Unai Emery has insisted he wants Jhon Duran to stay at the club.
"We believe in him and his potential,” Emery said.
"We are open to working with him like he did today, helping the team, being available when we need him and today he was fantastic.
"With Watkins not feeling 100 per cent we prepared the plan for today to use both players over 90 minutes.
"Always I am very committed with him to get the best out of him as a player and even as a person. Some mistakes we have to accept and of course not repeat it.
“At the beginning I wanted him here and nothing changed after the match today.
"We were before, with every player, open in case a big offer comes in, and one of those players is him.
“But we know his potential and we know if he is leaving the offer is good for the club. But I don't want him to leave."
Ben Chilwell should look for a new club, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has said.
The Italian revealed: "With Chilly it's quite clear, I love the way he trains, I love the way he is but the problem is that he struggles with us a little bit to find his best position.
"When you train every day and you don't get minutes, it's not good for them and it's not good for me because I need to make decisions.
"For some players, it's sometimes better to leave and to go somewhere to get minutes. We will see what happens, the transfer window is open and we will see what happens."
ARSENAL transfer target Mikel Merino has been left out of Real Sociedad's squad for their La Liga opener on Sunday.
The Spanish giants will play Rayo Vallecano on Sunday night but 28-year-old Merino is nowhere to be seen on the squad list.
Arsenal’s initial bid of £21.5 million for the midfielder was rejected, but they are now preparing an improved offer of £30million to secure the transfer.
Sporting director Edu has been actively involved in negotiations for the Euro 2024 winner and Merino’s openness to the move has further fueled the Gunners' pursuit.
Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil said: "I’ve left Merino out of the squad as there are talks with other clubs… and this is the best solution now."
VICTOR OSIMHEN is tipped to reject Chelsea and Arsenal - so he can wait up to two weeks for his dream move.
The Napoli striker has a £100million-plus release clause in a contract expiring in June 2026.
And Premier League giants have shown the strongest interest in the Nigerian over the past two seasons.
Manchester United were linked with the 25-year-old at one stage.
But Paris Saint-Germain have stepped up their hunt over the summer.
And it's claimed the battle for his signature is now between just three clubs - Chelsea, Arsenal and the French giants.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg believes PSG would have to offload a big-name attacker before they could lure Osimhen.
Portugal star Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani are the two main players on that list.
And Plettenberg reckons Osimhen has not only set his heart on joining PSG, he is also prepared to hold on until the eleventh hour of the transfer window to seal a deal.