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In the 14 months since Rodri sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, the midfielder has played only 588 minutes for Manchester City due to a series of setbacks, the last of which excluded him from Wednesday’s 4-1 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. While Pep Guardiola says “he will not be out for a while”, the Spanish midfielder is fundamental to the manager’s vision of the game. His alternatives are assessed …
Nico González
“Right now, the first option when Rodri cannot play is absolutely Nico. Nico is making steps forward,” Guardiola said before Sunday’s 3-1 win against Bournemouth. At 6ft 2in and 23 when signed for £49.8m from Porto earlier this year, González is a near carbon copy of Rodri. Indeed, Guardiola described the former Barcelona player as a “mini-Rodri” last season, yet against Bournemouth there were times when he was caught and dispossessed in midfield in a way Rodri, at his very best, would not be. There is scant shame, however, in not being in the same class as the Ballon d’Or winner.
Mateo Kovacic
The long-term loss of City’s sole other holding midfielder to an ankle problem will be a test for City should González also collect an injury during Rodri’s absence. Kovacic has impressed regularly for City since joining the club from Chelsea for £25m in June 2023 and has a CV that makes clear he is a stellar talent. The Croatian’s former clubs include Dinamo Zagreb, Inter and Real Madrid. He also has a glut of honours to his name, including one La Liga title, one Premier League title and four Champions League winner’s medals.
Rico Lewis
Lewis has made 103 appearances for City, nearly a quarter of which have been as a holding midfielder. The boy from Bury is versed in the 360-vision, touch, tackling and energy the position demands in a Guardiola-led side, but the manager has cited Lewis’s 5ft 7in height as a disadvantage in that role. “It’s necessary to have physicality, for obvious reasons,” he said. “It was less [needed] in Barcelona, Bayern Munich [Guardiola’s previous clubs].” Turning 21 later this month, Lewis has time on his side and should only continue to improve.
John Stones
“What he brings to the pitch is outstanding quality as a central defender and possibly as a pivotal No 6.” The view there of Thomas Tuchel and one that echoes Guardiola in regards to the ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’. Of Stones’s 408 professional club appearances, 27 have come as a No 6 and he starred in that role when stepping up from central defence to play alongside Rodri in City’s 2023 Champions League final victory over Inter. “The 360 thing was the most difficult for me,” Stones has said about playing in the position. “I haven’t got that [naturally] – I feel I do more now, but that’s from learning where to receive the ball and how to receive it in certain situations.”
Tijjani Reijnders
The Dutchman arrived at City from Milan in the summer as a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. As he put it himself at the summer’s Club World Cup: “The No 8 position is why they [City] got me. Now I have to fill the No 8 and do my best to show that I should play.” With González nursing a knock, Reijnders started at No 6 in last month’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa and was shifted upfield when the Spaniard came on shortly after the hour mark, the moment providing a snapshot of where he stands in Guardiola’s thinking, namely as a deputy holding midfielder.
Matheus Nunes
The Brazil-born Portugal international has only played nine times as a defensive midfielder throughout his career with his sole outing as a No 6 for City coming against Nottingham Forest in September 2023. He lasted the full 90 and provided an assist in a 2-0 win.
Kalvin Phillips
City’s forgotten man is still only 29. He has also operated as a No 6 on 164 occasions during his career and did well enough in the role to be capped by England. However, it is clear he is not trusted by Guardiola.
