The severity of Rodri’s situation was immediately apparent when the Man City midfielder went down after a challenge during the Arsenal game.
The Etihad Stadium fell silent and the fears of supporters and club staff were confirmed in the week after the Spaniard was confirmed to have suffered a torn ACL and meniscus problems.
?? Pep Guardiola: “Unfortunately, Rodri has had the worst result”.
“He had surgery this morning, ACL and some meniscus. This season is over for Rodri”.
“Next season, he’ll be here.” pic.twitter.com/10EbPuon9n
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 27, 2024
It is clear that the reigning Premier League champions cannot go the entire 2024/25 season without replacing a player who has become vital to their aspirations.
Given the shadow it casts over City’s midfield, there aren’t too many players who can step in and not be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
It seems that City have quickly identified who they want, and this has made Pep Guardiola set his sights on his former club, Barcelona.
City look to De Jong to replace Rodri
according to Madrid-BarcelonaPep wants Frenkie de Jong to fill the huge void that Rodri’s absence has created, but that door was quickly slammed in his face.
The outlet also noted that Hansi Flick offered a firm ‘no’ to the idea of ​​any deal taking the (currently injured) Dutchman to the north-west giants.
Although Football transfers Note that de Jong is open to moving away from Barcelona if the wages owed to him (around €18m) are paid, this would appear to be in direct opposition to Flick’s wishes.
Unless City want to go the free transfer route, which is unlikely, Pep will have to wait until January to bring in someone else, in any case.
By then, de Jong might have had his head turned to the point where Barca have to consider the possibilities.
For a club that seems to be drowning in debt since the days of Josep Maria Bartomeu, a big cash injection might not be the worst thing in the world as it could cover the loss of De Jong with the players that they already have on site.
