Manchester City’s worst fears were confirmed this week, when scans revealed that midfielder Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
“When the team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world, for a long, long time, it is a big blow,” Guardiola said ahead of his side’s midweek win over Watford. “Rodri is irreplaceable.”
Manchester City identify Rodri replacement
Pep Guardiola has vowed to find a replacement for Rodri (Image credit: Alamy)
But as City prepare for life without one of their most important players, Guardiola added that it was his job to find a solution.
“In football it happens and my duty is to find a solution to be competitive and continue to be a problem for our opponents. I will find a solution. We will do it.”
Hakan Calhanoglu in action for Turkey at Euro 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
According to a report in Italy, one solution that the club are weighing up is to bring in a new player when the transfer window opens in January.
InterLive claims that Pep Guardiola is ‘ready to steal’ Hakan Calhanoglu from Serie A champions Inter Milan, with the player himself said to be ‘tempted’ by a move to the Premier League side.
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Guardiola got a first-hand look at the Turkey international in action earlier this month, when Inter boss Simone Inzaghi deployed the 30-year-old in central midfield for his side’s goalless Champions League opener against City.
The report adds that City are willing to make a €50 miliion bid for Calhanoglu, who been a regular in Rodri’s defensive midfield position since he joined Inter from local rivals AC Milan on a free transfer in 2021.
VIDEO The ONLY Way Man City Can Survive Without Rodri
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, spending €50m on a 30-year-old midfielder that has never played in the Premier League and is valued at €45million by Transfermarkt wreaks of “panic buy”.
Mateo Kovacic is Rodri’s principle backup (Image credit: Getty Images)
It would be unrealistic to expect Calhanoglu to instantly adapt to Guardiola’s exacting methods and play a significant part in the second half of the season, and what’s more, it’s not the manager’s style.
Mateo Kovacic is in the driving seat to replace Rodri, but don’t rule out Pep surprising us with a curveball selection such as Rico Lewis, Bernardo Silva or John Stones in a new role.
