Manchester City fans are missing Rodri a lot, but it’s going to be a long time before we see him out on the pitch again.
The Spaniard suffered an ACL injury earlier this season against Arsenal, and will not play again this term.
Fans were left devastated by news of Rodri’s injury, because everyone knows what a hugely influential player he is for Manchester City. And his absence is already being felt.
City are now on a four-game losing streak and many eyes are already on January, which may present a chance to sign cover for their Ballon d’Or-winning midfield general.
It has been reported that Martin Zubimendi could be someone the club move for.
Rodri wants Man City to sign Martin Zubimendi
It has been reported by the Daily Star that Manchester City are now eyeing up a move for Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad.
The star is an international teammate of Rodri with Spain, and has long impressed for his club.
Apparently, Rodri has ‘briefed’ City bosses about Zubimendi ahead of the January window, telling them of his qualities.
One of the biggest draws about Zubimendi is his ability to control games from deep midfield positions, which is something Rodri does so well.
The player has a £60 million release clause, which is very affordable for City, who are said to have a budget of around £100 million for the next window.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
City need a midfield controller
It has been clear for the past few weeks that City need to bring someone in who can calm things down in midfield.
Mateo Kovacic has done well at times this season. But one gets the sense he would be better as a number eight, to take advantage of his ball-carrying.
Ilkay Gundogan has been in poor form since his return, but it was not expected that he would be playing this much.
| 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 |
A move for Zubimendi – dubbed ‘fantastic’ for Spain boss Luis de la Fuente – would be good. The star is a really solid operator at the base of midfield and is someone who would bring the control Pep Guardiola craves so much.
As per fbref data, Zubimendi places in the 85th percentile of players (over the last 365 days) for clearances made per 90 with 1.97. He’s also in the 70th percentile for blocks (1.40) and in the 62nd percentile for interceptions.
We don’t often see City spending big money in January. But the situation is much different heading into the next window, so £60 million on Zubimendi may not be out of the question.
If he is a player Rodri backs, City may genuinely consider it.
