Rodri returned to Manchester City on Friday. However, it always seemed that Rodri’s return to City was going to be fleeting. That is exactly how it has transpired. It has now been reported that Barcelona have agreed a deal with City to sign Spain’s World Cup-winning captain. Manchester City will now have to get to work to find a way to fill the void left by Rodri’s imminent departure and after watching City’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield today, it is crucial that the City hierarchy get to work to massively bolster their midfield.
Barcelona have finally agreed to pay Manchester City’s asking price for Rodri.
David Ornstein has reported for The Athletic that Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle to sign Rodri from Manchester City. Ornstein reports that Barcelona will pay City £65.3 million (€76.5 million) to sign City’s most important player. It is also reported that the deal also includes £9.83 million in add-ons bringing the total package up to Manchester City’s asking price for Rodri. After having two bids rejected for Rodri, Barcelona have now come to the party to sign the Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder.
Manchester City can now get to work on bolstering their midfield which needs to be done.
It is a huge blow for Manchester City to be losing Rodri. The Spanish international has risen to become one of Manchester City’s greatest ever players during his time at the club. He also remains one of City’s most important players. However, this moment has been coming all summer, and now it is up to City to bolster their midfield ahead of the Premier League kicking off next weekend.
Manchester City must nail their midfield signings from this point onwards. They have already begun that process by signing Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest earlier this summer. City have been heavily linked with moves for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Chelsea’s battle-hardened midfielder Enzo Fernandez. If they could complete moves for both players, that would go a long way in reshaping Manchester City’s midfield without Rodri. The final two weeks of the transfer window are critical for the FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders as they now know the size of the hole in their midfield they must fill.
Rodri is set to move to Barcelona. That news in itself isn’t a major surprise. It has been coming all summer. Now Manchester City must get to work to rebuild their midfield. It is imperative that they bring quality into their midfield. They simply have no other choice in this equation and it is a scenario that City would have planned for all summer.