Manchester City have been known to splash out vast transfer fees to bring new players to the club over recent years.

One player for whom the club once broke their record transfer fee to sign is Rodri, who came in from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019.

With 155 appearances for the Citizens to his name, the Spaniard has scored 13 goals, provided ten assists and won two Premier League titles.

As the latest summer transfer window draws to a close, the remaining days until Thursday's deadline could give Pep Guardiola the chance to bring in someone who could be their next version of Rodri.

One man who has been mentioned with a move to the Etihad Stadium recently and who could fit this bill is AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer.

After making 77 appearances for Empoli, in which he scored two goals and provided six assists, the 24-year-old joined his current club in 2019. Since then, the Algerian has played 107 times for the Rossoneri across all competitions, chipping in with four goals and seven assists.

To give an insight into what sort of player Bennacer is and how he operates on the pitch, legendary former Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi had this to say about the midfielder earlier this month: "He’s always ready to press the opponents and shorten the space between the lines. Also, he is good at moving the ball quickly. The speed of touch is fundamental in modern football."

Having also been described by Giuseppe Bergomias a figure who "dominates in the middle on the pitch due to his personality and technical qualities", only Sandro Tonali (309) made more midfield pressures for Milan than the Algerian (213) in Serie A last season. 

In comparison, Rodri topped City's list for the same statistic by making 254 pressures in the midfield third of the pitch.

Both players also came third in their respective squads in terms of the number of passes they played into the final third of the pitch, with Bennacer making 94 passes and the City star making 242.

Overall, as another young midfielder who is currently making a name for himself at one of Europe's big clubs, a switch to the Etihad this summer for the Milan ace could mirror the Spain international's 2019 move to City and give the Premier League champions their next version of the 26-year-old.