There has been so much talk about Rodri in recent weeks and how much Manchester City are missing their midfielder.
The Spaniard recently won the Ballon d’Or, confirming his status as the world’s greatest footballer – and that has certainly been hammered home of late.
Manchester City are currently on a five-game losing streak, but performances were poor before that run.
Simply put, City have yet to work out how to play without Rodri.
Mateo Kovacic has been the man to fill in for the most part, but the Croatia international is now injured – and this may actually force the club’s hand in January.
Man City could sign could midfielder amid fears over Kovacic
Kovacic picked up an injury while on international duty with Croatia, and is potentially going to be out for the rest of 2024.
Guardiola said £30 million maestro Kovacic would be out for around a month, but Manchester City News has been told by transfer expert Graeme Bailey that the club are concerned.
He told us: “That Kovacic injury is a massive worry to them. Obviously Rodri’s out, but Kovacic being out as well.
“They believe he’ll be back in early January, but if not I think that will see them going into the market. If Kovacic is an issue it will see them go in. They really don’t particularly want to.
“They’ve got Claudio Echeverri coming in, Oscar Bobb coming back. Kovacic is the one they think can cover for Rodri.
“They have the players who they like and City aren’t really a team to do any short-term deals but they will, if there’s options out there that present themselves, they are looking about.”
Kovacic was criticised by Micah Richards recently for sometimes being caught out of position along with Rico Lewis. But with Rodri out long-term, the 30-year-old’s absence is also a major blow.
Mateo Kovacic’s injury history isn’t the best
City fans just can’t wait for the January window to roll around, with many feeling the club will surely spring into action given how things have gone so far in 2024/25.
Kovacic is set to return at the start of that window, but City might just move for a new midfielder because of his injury history.
| Kovacic 2023-present (Man City and Croatia) | Kovacic 2018-2023 (Chelsea and Croatia) |
| Games missed through injury – 7 | Games missed through injury – 43 |
Kovacic missed seven matchday squads last season, but for Chelsea he was more than familiar with the treatment room, having missed a total of 43 games.
Concerns about his injury record were floated when City were signing Kovacic and City now find themselves in a position where they absolutely need him to stay fit, with Rodri out for the foreseeable.
So it’d be completely understandable to see an approach for a new midfielder in January.
