Manchester City include £53m signing in ways to replace Rodri, with one option ruled out entirely

Pep Guardiola is no stranger to being without Rodri since the Spanish midfielder arrived at the Etihad in 2019 from Atletico Madrid.

Man City manager Guardiola has lost his side’s driving force on a handful of occasions. Rodri missed three games last season, five in his first campaign and a fair few in between.

It is only now, however, he is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, and by far City’s most important. There is a reason why he has been in the run-in for this year’s Ballon d’Or having played a vital part in Spain winning Euro 2024.

In the three games that Rodri missed last campaign due to suspension, City lost each. They boast a two per cent loss rate with the midfielder, and a 31 per cent loss rate without him. We are about to learn a whole lot about Guardiola’s ever-changing system, how important Rodri really is to it, and how many of those gaps Rodri plugs that appear when City are hit in transition.

Rodri sidelined with serious knee ligament injury
The 28-year-old was taken off early into City’s clash against Arsenal on Sunday and the midfielder is set to be sidelined for a long period of time.

On Wednesday, City confirmed the former Atletico Madrid man has suffered a ligament injury to his right knee. City and Guardiola have never been without him for more than a couple of games at a time; the length of his absence is unconfirmed but will almost certainly be longer.

How can Guardiola plug the gap?
As is often the case for Guardiola, he is never short of options largely down to the amount of money City have spent on world-class recruitment over the years, as well as the calibre of midfielders their academy is producing.

In previous games without Rodri, or even Fernandinho who was also crucial for Guardiola, the Spanish tactician often found innovative ways to keep his team ticking.

Here are some ways Guardiola can keep his team playing at the same level, or near enough, without Rodri.

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Ilkay Gundogan

The return of Gundogan from Barcelona in the summer now looks far more important as it did six weeks ago. Gundogan is versatile due to his quality on the ball, making him a player who can play in all areas of the pitch.

Previously, Gundogan has played as the deepest-lying midfielder for City, as well as a box-crashing goalscorer as we saw in their league title win in 2022 and 2022. He is more than capable of playing in that role, potentially even more suited to it now at the age of 33.

Bernardo Silva deeper alongside Gundogan

As we have seen from City players under Guardiola, more so in the last two seasons, their positions in possession change drastically in comparison to when out of possession, and the Blues’ team on paper is night and day compared to when on the pitch.

In games last season, Silva was no stranger to dropping in deep alongside Rodri to create overloads, allowing City more control of the ball and collecting off Ederson. A duo of Gundogan and Silva, both elite ball players, could work to offer a similar balance.

With Rodri’s defensive abilities far different to those of Gundogan and Silva, Guardiola may need an extra body in midfield to cover for Rodri, and the pair could certainly offer that. Last season in the league, Silva won 117 duels and made 102 ball recoveries, showing his defensive strength.

The introduction of Matheus Nunes

After splashing £53m on Nunes in 2023, the Portugal international played just 834 Premier League minutes last season. The riches Pep Guardiola has on his hands compares to no other football manager.

Nunes predominantly played as a deeper midfielder in his time for Wolves, and there’s no reason as to why he couldn’t adopt that position again in the absence of Rodri. Well, the only probable reason is because he still hasn’t earned the trust of his manager, as is the case for many signings in their early City career.

While at Sporting Lisbon, Nunes was well sought after by a number of clubs in England, and it was a surprise at the time the 26-year-old ended up at Wolves. Hopefully he is given the opportunity to show what he is all about in Rodri’s role.

John Stones’ and Manuel Akanji’s versatility

It’s no secret that Guardiola absolutely adores Stones. Problems at centre-back? Stones. Right-back? Stones. A back three with an overlapping centre-back pushing forward to support Erling Haaland? You guessed it. John Stones. The England international even started the Champions League final in 2023 as a midfielder of some sort. Only a boffin could tell you his actual position.

Since struggling early in his City career after making the switch from Everton, Stones hasn’t looked back, winning six Premier League titles.

If Guardiola had to choose one of his defenders to start in midfield, it would probably be a toss up between Stones and Manuel Akanji who has also played in similar roles. Any other club would have an issue with starting centre-backs if two of their best defenders were being considered to play in midfield. Fortunately for Guardiola, he’d still have Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake – when he is back from injury – to choose from. City and their riches strike again.

The re-re-reintroduction of Kalvin Phillips

If Stones is adored by Guardiola, then this man is the complete opposite. There’s probably more chance of the editor getting a start for City than Phillips.

After a poor loan spell at West Ham last season, and losing his place in the England squad, Phillips’ stock has only further plummeted after being well sought after during his time at Leeds United.

He is now on loan at Ipswich and there is some suggestion City might explore terminating that agreement. The lack of any recall clause would be a slight problem.

A move back to Elland Road at some point is surely the best possible outcome for all parties here. We’re confident he’d be good enough to start for a side in the Championship.

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