Will Man City’s woeful Englishmen record recur with Saints star?

There are only two members of Manchester City’s regular playing squad that qualify as home-grown in the Premier League and Champions League’s set of rules, which could well determine the club’s transfer policy in the next transfer window.

Joe Hart and James Milner are the only English players under Manuel Pellegrini’s charge, with Scott Sinclair and Frank Lampard boosting those numbers on a temporary basis.

Lampard is on loan with the defending Premier League champions until his New York City FC side join the MLS next March, while Sinclair is expected to leave the Etihad to seek regular playing time at the first available opportunity.

So, with a quota of domestic players to fill it’s thought the Chilean manager will seek to boost the number of Englishmen at his disposal with a January move for Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez.

The former Burnley forward enjoyed a stellar campaign with the south-coast club last season, topping their scoring charts with 15 strikes.

However, a knee injury late on in proceedings ruled him out of the World Cup and Rodriguez is yet to make an appearance this term.

His absence hasn’t quashed City’s interest in the player though, as they seek to defend their top-flight crown at odds of 21/10.

For 25-year-old Rodriguez, the temptation to join one of the country’s biggest sides should well and truly be resisted.

Sinclair, a diminishing figure in domestic football thanks to a prolonged stint on the City sidelines, should be the only evidence Rodriguez needs to consult as to the benefits of filling English spots at a top club.

Although he’s now escaped, Jack Rodwell is another example of a burgeoning English talent ruined by City’s talent-filled squad, and Southampton’s one-cap international would be no different.

A versatile player able to play on either the wing or up front, Rodriguez wouldn’t displace any of City’s current stocks in those positions and would surely end up moving to a mid-table side after years of obscurity should he swap St Mary’s for the Etihad.

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