How Can Manchester City Cover for Their Star Midfielder?
In the last 14 months, the Spanish midfielder has been mostly unavailable following an serious knee injury sustained in a match with Arsenal, managing just 588 minutes in the colors of Manchester City owing to multiple relapses, the most recent of which kept him out from Wednesday’s 4-1 triumph over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Although Pep Guardiola has stated that “his absence won’t be long-term,” the 29-year-old remains fundamental to the coach’s system. In the following sections, we evaluate the options …
Nico Gonzalez
“The go-to alternative when Rodri cannot play is definitely Nico. Nico is making improvement,” the City manager said prior to Sunday’s 3-1 win versus Bournemouth. At a height of 6ft 2in and only 23 when brought in for £49.8m from Porto earlier this year, the midfielder is a near mirror image of Rodri. Actually, Guardiola labeled the ex- Barcelona player as a “Rodri in the making” in the past, yet in the match with Bournemouth there were moments when he was pressured and turned over in midfield as Rodri, at his peak, would not allow. It is little embarrassment, however, in failing to be in the same class as the Ballon d’Or winner.
Mateo Kovacic
The ongoing unavailability of City’s other holding midfielder with an ankle issue might prove to be a challenge for City if Nico also collect an injury in Rodri’s absence. The midfielder has impressed regularly for City since joining the club from Chelsea for £25m in June 2023 and has a track record that shows he is a exceptional talent. The Croatian’s previous teams include Dinamo Zagreb, Inter and Real Madrid. He possesses a wealth of accolades to his name, like one La Liga title, one Premier League title and four Champions League winner’s medals.
Lewis
Lewis has made 103 appearances for City, roughly a fourth of which were as a holding midfielder. The boy from Bury is skilled in the spatial awareness, control, defensive work and energy the position calls for in a Pep’s side, however the manager has pointed to Lewis’s lack of height as a drawback in that role. “It’s vital to have strength, for evident purposes,” he said. “It was lower [needed] in Barcelona, Bayern Munich [Guardiola’s previous clubs].” Nearing 21 soon, Lewis is young and has room for development.
Stones
“What he brings to the pitch is exceptional skill as a centre-back and possibly as a crucial No 6.” The perspective there by Thomas Tuchel and it reflects Guardiola concerning the ‘English defender’. Out of Stones’s 408 club games, 27 have come as a defensive midfielder and he excelled in that role when advancing from defense to play next to Rodri in City’s 2023 Champions League final victory over Inter. “The all-round vision was the most difficult for me,” Stones has said about playing in the position. “I haven’t got that – I feel I’ve improved, but that comes from learning where to receive the ball and how to handle it in particular moments.”
Tijjani Reijnders
The Dutchman arrived at City from Milan in the summer as a stand-in for Kevin De Bruyne. As he stated at the this year’s Club World Cup: “The No 8 position is why they [City] signed me. Now it’s up to me to occupy that role and perform to the best of my ability to demonstrate that I merit a place.” As Nico dealing with a fitness issue, Reijnders was deployed as a deep midfielder in last month’s 1-0 loss at Aston Villa and was pushed upfield when the Spaniard entered the field around the 60-minute mark, the moment providing a snapshot of where he fits in Guardiola’s considerations, namely as a deputy.
Nunes
Born in Brazil Portugal star has only played nine times as a deep-lying midfielder during his career with the single outing in the position for City occurring against Nottingham Forest in September 2023. He played the entire match and delivered an assist in a 2-0 win.
Kalvin Phillips
Manchester City’s overlooked player is only 29. He has featured as a holding midfielder on 164 instances during his career and showed enough quality in the role to be selected by England. Yet, it is apparent he lacks the faith of Guardiola.
