Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. Without a doubt two key players for Manchester City. Sometimes it looks like this statement downgrades the other star players in Premier League champions team like Erling Haaland, Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva (not to mention the likes of Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker or Ilkay Gundgoan), but the stats are clear and obvious: the majority of City‘s defeats happened when therse two footballers were not in the team, especially Rodri. Now, when the Spanish international is definitely out for the season due to ligament injury, only Mateo Kovačić is there to play in his position. Players like Gundogan or Foden (when he is playing central) are not coming back so deep, so Guardiola had to change formation with players like Rico Lewis or even Akanji coming into the midfield in order to fill the void during certain parts of the match. However, that is only a temporary solution, especially if you want to win the Premier League (again) or the Champions League, so it‘s almost certain that the Citizens will be looking for a replacement in January. So far, they have identified the country – Italy.Mr.Invincible, your services will be sorely missedAccording to multiply sources, Serie A is the place where the Rodri replacement should arrive from, but the player in question is not certain. So far there are two of them – the realistic and the unrealistic one. Let‘s start with the latter. Nicolo Barella is the one, according to the Daily Star. Inter Milan‘s vice captain certainly fits the bill and he could play anywhere (and anything) in central midfield and did make a quite an impression with Guardiola. The problem is off course the price tag: Barella only signed a new contract with Inter this June, while it has been reported that the reigning Serie A champions have also set a staggering 75 million pounds asking price, a hefty sum for a 27-year old. And while City have no problem paying that kind of cash, two questions remain: is Barella prepared to leave Inter, for whome he plays since 2019 and has an ‘the untouchable‘ status, and what happens when Rodri comes back next season and you have a 75 million man in his place? Will you put him on the bench, or sell Rodri to Real Madrid?Samuele Ricci currently has the 2nd HIGHEST % of ball retention under high pressure this season according to @CIES_Football He sits at 92.5% & only Joshua Kimmich has done better so far📊Breakout year, could cement his spot in the NT & big move next summer on the horizon✨👀 pic.twitter.com/5TFmeX7VGY— AzzurriXtra🇮🇹 (@XtraAzzurri) September 27, 2024 That is why the second option is more likely. According to the Guardian, City have targeted Samuele Ricci from FC Turin as a possible replacement. He is young enough (23) and played well enough to earn a call for Italy‘s national team (already four appearances). His price is also favorable – 22 million and he could be groomed behind the experienced Kovačić and even become Rodri‘s replacement in due time.##NAJAVA_MECA_8370686##
