By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-03 12:18:58 | Updated at 2026-09-03 13:03:29
59 minutes ago
Manchester City have gone big on this summer’s rebuild, but how well will their new-look midfield function? We take a look into life after Rodri at the Etihad.
Manchester City knew they had a big task on their hands.
Legendary manager Pep Guardiola had left, and key, experienced players like Bernardo Silva and John Stones were set to leave on free transfers after letting their contracts run down.
There was fat to trim from the squad – something they’ve done extremely effectively with fringe players Sávio, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico González, James Trafford and Omar Marmoush all departing for significant fees – but the biggest job was always going to be filling the Rodri-shaped hole in midfield, after the Spain international left for Barcelona.
In a crowded field, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is among the most important players of the entire Guardiola era, dictating play from the base of midfield and hoovering up possession as well as anyone in Europe.
He scored key goals, including the treble-clinching winner against Inter in the 2023 Champions League final, too, but his importance was felt most strongly in his absence.
Whenever Rodri was missing, City were noticeably weaker and their results far worse. When he missed most of the 2024-25 season with an ACL injury, City, who had just won an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row, fell apart. They finished outside the top two for the first time since Pep’s first season in 2016-17.
There is reasonable fear, therefore, that this season could become one of transition, as City not only begin life after Rodri, but also adjust to a new manager, and other senior players having moved on, too.
However, in order to try and mitigate against these losses, new boss Enzo Maresca went big in the transfer market, most significantly in central midfield. Elliot Anderson was targeted and signed early; Ayyoub Bouaddi was brought in following an impressive World Cup with Morocco, and Enzo Fernández, a target all summer, finally joined on deadline day for a British transfer record-equalling fee.
It all means that City’s new-look midfield includes two of the four most expensive players ever signed by English clubs, as well as the 15th-most expensive player.
The fees are staggering, but that isn’t something limited to City. Yes, they were desperate, having lost one of the most important players in their history, while the selling clubs were essentially able to name their price because they knew City couldn’t afford to compromise.
But across the board, Premier League clubs have been forced to pay huge sums this summer, particularly for central midfielders. Chelsea paid £117m for Morgan Rogers, for example, while Spurs spent the best part of £200m on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
But as the £105m Declan Rice has shown at Arsenal, transfer fees are swiftly forgotten if a player is a success. He has been a revelation since his 2023 move to north London, worth every penny his club paid. In fact, if he’d been signed at almost any cost (within reason), his fee would still be considered worth it.
So, what will it take for City’s expensive and dramatic midfield rebuild to be deemed a success?
The truth is there was never any replacing Rodri. This summer’s work will have to transform City into a different team. Yet there’s also an argument that, after spending so heavily, they will need to rediscover their winning touch quickly.
That means these players must learn to play together fast and find something close to their best form at the same time. With this rebuilt midfield, City cannot afford a long bedding-in period. They need to be challenging for, and winning, the title again before long.
While the fee for Anderson, the best ball-winner in the Premier League, having won possession 306 times last season – at least 94 more than any other player – has generally seemed to be accepted, there have been widespread questions as to how Fernández could cost £125m?
After all, his two and a half seasons at Chelsea produced league finishes of sixth, fourth and 10th, while the Conference League and Club World Cup remain his only honours. Given that record, it is fair to ask why City were willing to pay such a premium, and whether Fernández can have the transformative impact Rice has had at Arsenal.
Having watched him at Chelsea, Premier League viewers will probably be fairly roundly convinced that Fernández simply cannot have the same kind of transformative impact. And there’s every chance that they’re right.
But surrounded by better players and playing under a manager who knows him well, we may well see more from the Argentina international at the Etihad. And even if we don’t, his numbers in what was a grossly disappointing 2025-26 suggest City might be getting a far better player than many consider him to be.
He is a little bit of an all-rounder, which can count against a player in the public’s view, because it’s difficult to pinpoint what he specialises in, like we can with Anderson, for example.
Fernández spent time in different midfield positions at Chelsea, but it’s pretty clear he is at his best when given the freedom to get forwards into attacking positions. Despite playing in a dysfunctional Chelsea side, he has some very impressive data beyond his 10 goals and fairly meagre tally of four assists in Premier League games in 2025-26.
He ranked third behind two of the league’s best creators in Bruno Fernandes and Rayan Cherki for expected assists from passes (excluding crosses), with 6.0. His overall total of 7.3 xA – the fourth best in the league – suggests he was unfortunate not to have registered more than the four assists he actually got.
His penetrative passing is arguably his biggest strength, and his numbers suggested he was the second-best player in the league behind Fernandes last season in that regard.
He ranked behind only the Manchester United captain for line-breaking passes that created chances, with 19, and behind only Fernandes and Cherki again for line-breaking passes into the penalty area (49).
He was also third, behind Fernandes and Bruno Guimarães for line-breaking passes that broke the opposition’s defensive line (54), and third among non-defenders for progressive passes (141), behind only Fernandes and, interestingly, now-City teammate Anderson.
While Fernández might have been unlucky not to register more assists, much of his best work is playing the pass before the action that creates a chance. Indeed, he was top of the whole league for secondary assists (the pass before an assist) last season, with six.
Fernández also creates space consistently with his work rate and off-the-ball movement. Only Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert covered more ground with high-intensity runs while his team was in possession in the Premier League last season than Fernández, whose off-ball runs totalled 20.0 kilometres in distance.
His runs were often into dangerous areas, too. He was third behind centre-forwards Igor Thiago and Evanilson for runs into the attacking third, with 376, and second after only Evanilson for runs that made him an option to receive a cross, with 116. He is committed to getting into the box consistently.
The Argentine is clearly a different kind of player to Cherki, who doesn’t tend to run beyond the ball, making only 47 ‘cross-option’ runs last season, instead always preferring the ball into feet.
Paired with Fernández, though, City now have two of the league’s best passers in attacking areas, and if they find a way of playing together, they are a frightening prospect.
Cherki’s presence in the team is likely to mean that Fernández plays in a deeper position, with Anderson tasked with doing the Rodri-like defensive work to allow the other midfielders to focus on hurting the opposition, and Fernández asked to make runs from deep to join attacks.
Moving the ball around the pitch like Rodri is something that no individual will be able to replicate, with the Spaniard predictably topping the Premier League last season for successful passes per 90 (86.7).
Bouaddi is the closest to Rodri stylistically and may well eventually take up this role, but still only 18 years of age, he is unlikely to do this job to anything like the same standard straight away. He is most likely to be one for the future, even though he cost upwards of £80m.
So, understandably, City haven’t replaced Rodri. They haven’t tried to because doing so would be basically impossible.
But what they have done is create a midfield with huge potential. Many rival fans will be willing pantomime villain Fernández to fail, particularly after his goal against England at this summer’s World Cup. And given the hefty transfer fee, the scope for failure is vast.
If Maresca can get these players functioning together, though, City could be a formidable side once again very soon. Life after Rodri will be different, but it might not be so bad, after all.
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