In the past 14 months, the Spanish midfielder has been largely unavailable because of an serious knee injury suffered in a match with Arsenal, accumulating a mere 588 minutes of play in the colors of Manchester City owing to multiple relapses, the last of which kept him out from Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. While Pep Guardiola has stated that “his absence won’t be long-term,” the 29-year-old stands as fundamental to the manager’s system. Here, we evaluate the replacements …
The Young Spaniard
“The go-to alternative in the event that Rodri is unavailable is certainly Nico. Nico is making progress,” Guardiola remarked before Sunday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth. At a height of 6ft 2in and aged 23 at the time he was signed for a substantial sum from Porto in the recent transfer window, the midfielder is a near replica of Rodri. In fact, Guardiola labeled the former Barcelona player as a “Rodri in the making” in the past, but against Bournemouth there were times when he was caught and lost possession in midfield as Rodri, at his very best, would avoid. There is scant embarrassment, however, in failing to be in the same caliber as the Ballon d’Or winner.
The Croatian Veteran
The extended absence of City’s sole other holding midfielder with an ankle issue could be a test for City should Nico also pick up an injury during Rodri’s absence. The midfielder has impressed regularly for City since moving to the club from Chelsea for £25m in June 2023 and has a CV that shows he is a stellar talent. His former clubs encompass Dinamo Zagreb, Inter and Real Madrid. He also has a plethora of titles to his name, like one La Liga title, one Premier League title and four Champions League victories.
Lewis
The young defender has accumulated 103 games for City, nearly a fourth of which have been as a holding midfielder. The local talent is proficient in the all-around awareness, touch, challenges and energy the duty calls for in a the manager’s side, but the manager has pointed to Lewis’s relatively short stature as a drawback in that role. “It’s vital to have physicality, for evident purposes,” he said. “It was less [needed] in Barcelona, Bayern Munich [Guardiola’s former teams].” Turning 21 soon, Lewis has time on his side and is expected to grow.
Stones
“What he brings to the pitch is exceptional ability as a defender and potentially as a crucial No 6.” The perspective there by Thomas Tuchel and it reflects Guardiola in regards to the ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’. Out of Stones’s 408 professional club appearances, 27 have been as a defensive midfielder and he shone in that role when advancing from defense to play alongside Rodri in City’s UCL final win over Inter. “The 360 thing was the hardest for me,” Stones admitted about playing in the position. “It’s not innate – I feel I’ve developed, but that is thanks to learning where to take possession and how to control it in particular moments.”
Tijjani Reijnders
Reijnders was signed by City from Milan this past transfer window as a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. As he stated at the summer’s Club World Cup: “The No 8 position is why they [City] brought me in. Now it’s up to me to play in that position and do my best to show that I deserve to start.” As González nursing a knock, Reijnders started as a defensive midfielder in the recent 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa and was pushed into attack when the Spaniard entered the field shortly after the hour mark, the moment giving a indication of where he fits in Guardiola’s thinking, that is as a reserve.
The Portuguese Midfielder
Of Brazilian origin Portugal star has only played nine times as a deep-lying midfielder during his career with his sole appearance in the position for City occurring against Nottingham Forest in September 2023. He played the full 90 and contributed an key pass in a 2-0 victory.
The Forgotten Man
City’s forgotten man is only 29. Additionally, he has featured as a deep midfielder on 164 times during his career and did well enough in the role to be capped by England. Nevertheless, it is evident he lacks the faith of Guardiola.
