Rodri is expected back in Manchester on Friday, having been granted an additional two days off because of planned back surgery scheduled after his World Cup triumph. Yet against the backdrop of that recovery, and the growing acceptance that his long-term future now appears to be away from Manchester City, it would hardly be a shock if the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner did not reappear at the club for the usual round of pre-season checks.
City are preparing for another round of tough negotiations with Barcelona, with the Premier League champions determined to bring in more than £60million for a central midfielder entering the final year of his contract. Rodri, named player of the tournament last month, often looked drained physically during the domestic campaign, but on the international stage he was once again commanding.
For director of football Hugo Viana, the challenge is clear: protect Manchester City’s valuation of Rodri while recognising the direction of travel. This has felt like a carefully managed departure for some time, heavily trailed over the past year and made firmer by Pep Guardiola’s farewell, with the 30-year-old having started only 18 Premier League matches across the last two seasons.
Some observers point to his performances in the United States, where high temperatures slowed the tempo of matches, as proof that no midfielder in Europe remains superior. But as City edge closer to accepting a separation, they may also consider the evidence of diminishing returns. Over the past two seasons, the team have actually won fewer games when Rodri has started.
In the Premier League, City’s win rate with Rodri in the starting XI stands at exactly 50 per cent. Without him, it rises to 60.3 per cent. The pattern is much the same across his 29 starts in all competitions. At no previous point in Rodri’s Manchester City career have the side won more often when he has been absent.
Manchester City are preparing for further negotiations with Barcelona as they seek more than £60million for Rodri, who was named World Cup player of the tournament last month
As Manchester City come to terms with a potential split, the numbers point to diminishing returns, with the team winning fewer matches over the past two seasons when Rodri starts
The figures are not definitive, of course. The sample size is limited, and City still concede fewer goals when Rodri operates as their holding midfielder. Even so, the comparison is striking enough to merit attention.
City, and Enzo Maresca, would prefer to plough on with him, of course. Their movements in the transfer window paint a picture of how this is only heading one way.
Proactive and forceful club denials around interest in Chelsea’s £120million-rated Enzo Fernandez at the beginning of the summer have now given way to silence. Fernandez wants to reunite with his old boss Maresca and those close to him believe the feeling to be mutual. Ayyoub Bouaddi, the Moroccan who lit up the World Cup, is edging closer to signing from Lille, as the French club demand £85million.
City sources say Bouaddi’s arrival is not linked to Rodri’s future and that they are pursuing him regardless of what happens, in a window that is threatening to become busy if Tijjani Reijnders and potentially another midfielder leave.
Yet his displays across almost 100 senior games, earning rave reviews for a physicality off the ball and intelligence on it, dictate that he can be ready to impact City’s fortunes. His minutes will have to be carefully monitored and managed.
What seemed apparent on Wednesday, when Elliot Anderson was unveiled to supporters during an event at the Etihad, was that the £116million club-record signing fancies more of a roaming ‘box-to-box’ role than filling Rodri’s void.
‘I’ve spoken to the manager a few times – he explained the sort of things that I need to do,’ said Anderson. ‘There is a lot of running, a lot of energy. It’s to try and control games. That is what I can do.
‘I’ll see where I get used. Creating things, driving forward or the other role if they ask me to do that. Kevin De Bruyne was always the player I looked up to over the last 10 years. I loved watching him. To be here at the same club and playing where he played is special.’
Ayyoub Bouaddi (right), the Moroccan who lit up the World Cup, is edging closer to signing from Lille, as the French club demand £85million
There is a feeling that Enzo Fernandez (left) wants to reunite with Enzo Maresca, but for now Elliot Anderson (right) is the man City have identified as the one to run their midfield
City identified Anderson’s aggression and punch in the pass as ideal for the way the Premier League operates these days. Maresca has operated with a two-man midfield in his pre-season fixtures – Mateo Kovacic and Reijnders against Atletico Madrid in South Korea on Sunday – and in that system, Anderson would appear as the one who springs forward, chipping in with the sort of goal he scored away at City during a 2-2 draw in March, arriving late.
Kovacic is ahead of Nico Gonzalez in the pecking order and expected to start Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal in Cardiff. Both Gonzalez and Kovacic have publicly declared that they do not wish to leave this summer.
The physical demands Maresca places upon his midfielders is huge, with Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki vying for the role pushed up alongside Erling Haaland. Maresca is looking at around half a dozen options as part of the two, with that second runner crucial. The way Reijnders crashed the boxes during their friendlies showcased exactly what is being preached on the training pitch.
‘I’ve taken take huge confidence knowing that I can perform on a World Cup stage,’ Anderson said, also admitting that he’s still struggling with England’s semi-final defeat by Argentina. ‘Obviously I hadn’t played in anything as big as that yet. I had a big decision to make on who to join and I’m confident I’ve made the right one.’
