Manchester City fans know that Pep Guardiola replacing Rodri is no easy task.
The Spanish midfielder is out for the rest of the season after recently suffering an ACL injury against Arsenal.
Fans were instantly worried after Rodri went down against the Gunners, but there was some hope as he made his way off the pitch without a stretcher. But those hopes of it only being a minor injury were dashed days later. Supporters were left devastated by news of Rodri’s injury.
Pep Guardiola now has to find a way of covering Rodri’s absence, and it will not be easy.
In recent days though, it has been suggested Manchester City could move for Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad.
Zubimendi is an international teammate of Rodri, and there are some statistics to suggest he might make for a good replacement.
Martin Zubimendi vs Rodri
If Manchester City do decide to dip into the transfer market in January, then whoever comes in has huge shoes to fill.
City fans have seen Rodri dominate games for a few years now, and his importance to the team has been crystal clear.
Zubimendi is thought to be a player City are considering as a potential replacement. With a reported release clause of around £50.3 million, he would be in budget.
Taking a look at how the pair performed statistically for their clubs last season, Rodri is the superior player. But Zubimendi does have some impressive statistics, and actually finished last season with a higher percentage of dribblers tackled than the City star in their respective leagues.
| Rodri (Man City, 2023/24) | Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad, 2023/24) |
| Appearances/minutes played – 34/2931 | Appearances/minutes played – 31/2654 |
| Goals/assists – 8/9 | Goals/assists – 4/1 |
| Shots on target % – 35.5% | Shots on target % – 50% |
| Pass completion rate – 92% | Pass completion rate – 85.7% |
| Shot-creating actions per 90 – 4.82 | Shot-creating actions per 90 – 1.87 |
| Dribblers tackled % – 48.3% | Dribblers tackled % – 54.8% |
| Take-on success % – 65.6% | Take-on success % – 66.7% |
| Yellow/red cards – 8/1 | Yellow/red cards – 5/0 |
Zubimendi also had a marginally higher take-on success rate than Rodri.
But it was clear that Rodri was the more effective player in terms of creating chances. His shot-creating actions per 90 metric was considerably higher than Zubimendi’s, and of course, he also laid on nine assists to Zubimendi’s one.
Zubimendi is worth Man City’s consideration
City fans accept that whoever comes in is probably not going to be as good as Rodri.
In the eyes of many, he is the best defensive midfielder in world football, and is a player who consistently performs to high standards. Rodri is someone many Man City fans feel would be a worthy Ballon d’Or winner.
But Zubimendi could well make for a decent replacement for the injured star, having been compared by The Athletic to the great Sergio Busquets for his ‘elusive’ and ‘understated’ movement.
He is described as a player who is all about ‘tempo-setting’, and is someone who rarely ventures forward. In this sense, Rodri clearly has the edge over his compatriot given what he contributes in the final third.
But Zubimendi clearly has a lot about him, and what’s more, the 25-year-old has worked under Xabi Alonso, who is one of the all-time deep-lying midfielders.
