At the City Football Academy offices, overlooking a squad car park that has a couple of extra free spaces this year, Txiki Begiristain draws up a roster with three players for each position.
This is not a physical list scribbled on a notepad. Begiristain keeps Manchester City’s transfer activity in his head for as long as possible, and then comes the PowerPoint presentations alongside Carlos Raphael Moersen, who has taken on the role of deputy sporting director following the defection of Omar Berrada to rivals United.
Begiristain tries to shroud every signing in such secrecy that when Rodri arrived at City five years ago, for months he was known simply as “No. 6”.
Sorting through the dozens of candidates who could serve as a backup has not been an easy task for City. Finding someone good enough to replace Rodri, but also willing to act as understudy to the world’s best in that area of the pitch seems almost impossible. Kalvin Phillips was thought to be the perfect candidate, but the 28-year-old spent Friday finalising a loan move to newly promoted Ipswich.
That is why the rumours around City all summer have been that a conventional holding midfielder is unlikely to be signed before the transfer window closes, despite clamour from fans.
Manchester City will be forced to adapt to playing without key man Rodri on Sunday afternoon
They failed to find a replacement for No.6 Kalvin Phillips, who joined Ipswich on loan.
City appear confident that a holding midfielder is unlikely to be signed before the end of the window.
Sunday’s trip to Chelsea will provide further clues as to whether that is the right decision after Pep Guardiola revealed that Rodri, the linchpin of this City team and a contender for the Ballon d’Or, would not be in the squad.
The 28-year-old suffered a thigh injury in Spain’s Euro final win over England (following a collision with former City defender Aymeric Laporte) and, although Guardiola has suggested Rodri is feeling fine, he has been allowed to rest more over the summer.
Rodri did not return to the club until Wednesday, when he completed pre-season testing.
“He hasn’t trained and I haven’t seen him yet,” Guardiola said. “I think he feels fine. But we have to start training and we’ll see how he moves his body and how he feels.”
Guardiola said there was “no chance” of Rodri travelling to Stamford Bridge after Mateo Kovacic and teenager Nico O’Reilly occupied the midfield against United in the Community Shield.
Rico Lewis spent the days leading up to the opening game doing exercises in that area of the pitch and is considered capable of performing there. The main argument in favour of the 19-year-old is that he makes City play faster.
Lewis and Kovacic did not combine well in last season’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, one of four games Rodri missed in the Premier League. Of the other three, they lost two and beat Luton.
Rodri has not been on the losing side in the league since February 2023. It is fair to say he is the most important player for any team in the division, having missed just 18 games in five seasons. City score more, concede less and pick up more points when he is involved.
Chelsea would prefer Rodri to stay in Manchester rather than board the Avanti train to London today. Cole Palmer would prefer a central area without Rodri to move to; his absence to patrol gives Chelsea a clue.
Rodri suffered an injury in the Euro 2024 final, where he once again demonstrated his quality with Spain
Rico Lewis (right) is a midfield option for City, with Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly playing through the middle in the Community Shield.
“We’re prioritising rest,” Guardiola said. “I’d love to give the players even more time off, but I demand the best against Chelsea. We know we have to pick up points as soon as possible. Everyone knows we’re not in the best condition, but it doesn’t matter.”
“From my experience, the season is very long and the important thing is that the players are prepared, especially mentally, and for that you need rest. I could have called them up earlier and perhaps they would have arrived in better condition for the Community Shield, but I learned that it doesn’t matter.”
The England contingent (John Stones, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker) returned to City on Monday and are likely to play on Sunday. Foden and Walker are seen as two players who can press the play button and play straight away, and Walker would free up Lewis to play in midfield.
Kovacic, meanwhile, is aware he needs to add a No.6 to his goal. Most of the Croatian’s best performances in an encouraging debut campaign have come alongside Rodri, given the chance to push forward with the security of knowing who was behind, but he believes he needs to do more when the Spaniard is absent. His lack of awareness in that role was evident in September’s 2-1 defeat to Wolves and he has not played alone there since.
“Positioning, staying, covering, not getting carried away by the ball, is something I have to improve,” Kovacic said. “What is asked of the No. 6 is to hold the position, stay there and not get too involved in going everywhere, which is sometimes difficult for a guy who is used to going. The coach explains it and we are watching it on video, so we know what we have to do.
Mateo Kovacic (pictured) is aware that he needs to add the number 6 to his midfield lineup
“I like it when I have support because I haven’t played that much there alone. It’s harder because you have to cover the space better because you’re alone, you’re not in a pair.”
What seems certain is that unless Begiristain comes up with a new name (finding the equivalent of a bargain like Manuel Akanji two years ago), Rodri will remain the only No. 6 specialist at Guardiola’s disposal.
