Club president responds to Manchester City transfer links with clear hands-off warning

Manchester City have been issued with a clear hands-off warning by Lazio president Claudio Lotito regarding reported interest in Nicolo Rovella.

The Premier League champions are understood to be keen on bringing in a new central midfielder into their ranks this month after succumbing to a long-term injury problem with Rodri last September.

The Spain international and Ballon d’Or winner was ruled out for the most part of the ongoing season, but remains hopeful of some involvement towards the back end of the campaign, and potentially at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States starting in June.

For the time being, Pep Guardiola has continued to try and find solutions to the absence in the centre of the park, utilising the likes of Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, and Manuel Akanji in the defensive midfield role.

However, with a clear lack of energy and legs in an ageing side, there is a belief within the club that they may need to invest in a new central midfielder sooner rather than later, drawing their name to a number of potential options in media reports over the last few weeks.

Speaking during a recent exchange with Italian outlet Il Messaggero, relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb, Lazio president Claudio Lotito issued a clear warning over the future of Nicolo Rovella following links to the likes of Manchester City.

“He’s not up for sale, and we’ve never received an offer,” Lotito said, as translated by Football Italia this week. The Lazio boss continued, “But naturally, our players are appreciated by the top clubs in the world.”

Manchester City have been linked to a long list of central midfield profiles from across the Italian game in particular, with an admiration standing within the club when it comes to Atalanta’s Ederson.

There does however remain significant concerns over the availability of the Brazilian international given the Italian club’s European ambitions, and the potential cost of tempting the club into a sale at the midway stage of the season.

As such, Manchester City may have to be more creative with their approach this month, and could look to strengthen their defensive line in order to move certain players higher up the pitch, including Manuel Akanji and John Stones when available.