Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said the club will "try to find the new Rodri" after the 30-year-old midfielder left for Barcelona earlier this week for a fee around £65m. Rodri signed a four-year contract at the Nou Camp and will be a new captain for Spain.
Rodri's Departure
Rodri, who has won four Premier League titles, the 2024 Ballon d’Or and scored the only goal in the 2023 Champions League final, played nearly 300 games for City. He was in the final 12 months of his contract and, despite an offer from the Premier League side, the talks did not yield a result. Maresca said, "How do we solve that problem? We try to find the new Rodri, it is what it is."
Transfer Window Activity
City have already signed England international midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £115m fee. The club remain in advanced talks to sign Lille's Moroccan star Ayyoub Bouaddi. Reports say City have also not given up hope of signing Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, while there is interest in Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister.
Tottenham have agreed a £75m fee to sign Brazilian winger Savinho and are also in talks to acquire City team-mate Omar Marmoush. Maresca added, "We are almost in the same situation as all of the clubs. There are 10 days to go, hopefully we can do the things that we need to do."
Manager's Outlook
Maresca reflected on past departures, comparing them to the arrival of players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland. "When David Silva was here, everyone was worried and Kevin arrived. When Sergio Aguero was here, everyone was worried when he was going to leave and Erling Haaland arrived. Fernandinho? Rodri arrived," he said. "When they leave, you need to be good in recruiting the next one. They are all similar, David, Kevin, Fernandinho, Rodri, Erling - it is normal, it is change, it is not a problem."
He also said, "We don't want to keep players here who don't want to stay. Probably the normal thing in the transfer window is that you have to wait until the last week, because all the clubs try to keep players until the last week and then sell for more money."
City will be busy in the remaining days of the transfer window with both incomings and outgoings likely, as the club seeks to fill the void left by Rodri and maintain its competitive edge.
