Manchester City: Who replaces Rodri?
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola confirmed that star midfielder, Rodri, would miss the remainder of the season after sustaining an ACL tear in the club’s top-table clash with Arsenal. The statistics show that City are much better with the Spaniard, than without, so who in the Manchester club’s squad can step into the vacated role?
The Cityzens are in for their hardest Premier League campaign since Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool pushed them to the wire three seasons ago. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal look the real deal, and City will have to stay at the top without their talismanic holding midfielder. The loss of such a player leads to the question, does this team have enough depth to cover? And is there someone who can slot in and take control of the former’s role?
There are three candidates that stand out, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and the returning Ilkay Gundogen. Two would examples of using experience to fill the position, whilst the other would be attempting to use youth and training. What is important to note is that no player in the City squad is specifically aligned to play Rodri’s position.
Kovacic is the most obvious choice, having played in every position of midfield three, or deep midfield two. The Croation comes with experience and tenacity, with tackling and passing range being two of his best qualities. It would be up to Guardiola to keep him from wandering too far forward, something Rodri rarely does unless required.
As for Gundogen, the German also provides a level of experience, having been a firm favourite of Guardiola’s ever since the Spaniard brought him to the Etihad. What is a problem, is that Gundogen has rarely played as deep as Rodri, and often loves to drive into the box to get on the end of crosses, or clear up rebounds. With this role, he would not be able to do that, so it seems less than productive to play him here.
As for Nunes, he has played deep before, being deployed there on occasion for his former team Wolves. What remains to be seen is whether Guardiola would trust the 26-year-old with the huge responsibility of filling Rodri’s boots.
Whilst it seems that Kovacic is the most likely candidate to deputise for Rodri, it wouldn’t be a miss to see a defender deployed in deep midfield, just as Guardiola has before. What is true, is that no matter what, Rodri will be a huge miss for City as they fight for trophies on all fronts this season.
