If we accept that Manchester City need a new Rodri – and they clearly do – then the best place to start looking is at players with similar skills.
Thankfully, the wonderful folk at FBRef provide this exact service, giving 10 examples of players from the big five leagues of Europe who have a very similar statistical profile. In their words: ‘The players who have the smallest differences in percentiles are considered the most similar. Currently, all statistics are treated equally in the similarity calculation with no statistic weighted more heavily or given more importance than another.’
So as Rodri rates incredibly highly for passes, pass completion and progressive passes, as well as SCAs (see more on those here), the players suggested rate highly in the same sectors.
Which players fit the bill? Have Man City ever tried to sign them? And what are the chances that they will come to Man City in January?
Interestingly, Martin Zubimendi is not on this list; his passing numbers are noticeably poor in comparison with Rodri. But whose aren’t? Well…
1) Declan Rice (Arsenal)
This is when we realise that Manchester City have actually tried their damnedest to bring in a midfielder to lessen their Rodri reliance, going head to head with the Gunners for the signature of Rice in the summer of 2023.
“Sometimes here we have many players we wanted and they didn’t decide to join us,” said Guardiola in March. “He’s not the first one who we wanted who didn’t join us. We have a long list. He’s an international captain for the national team of England and a young player playing a lot of games regularly. That’s why Arsenal pushed the way they pushed.”
Chances of a January move? Absolute zero.
2) Joao Neves (PSG)
Everybody wanted the Portuguese teenager this summer, with Manchester United pretending for a good month that they could possibly tempt the kid with the £100m release clause. City were also strongly linked, but eventually he opted for the riches of a £50m move to PSG.
“I told him to go to Manchester City,” said his Portuguese teammate Bernardo Silva. “It’s not easy. He’s a player who, due to the success he had last season, has many clubs that want him. As a Portuguese and being a player I appreciate him, I would like to see him by my side.”
It might have sounded more convincing if Silva had not spent about five years desperately trying to leave Man City…
Chances of a January move? Sod all.
3) Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Now we’re talking. He’s 26 (and Manchester City desperately need more players in that age bracket), won the World Cup with Argentina, won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and would probably be available for a fee north of £50m.
Palacios was heavily linked with Manchester City (as well as Newcastle United and Aston Villa) last season, with talk of him being Pep Guardiola’s option to replace Kalvin Phillips, though presumably playing a little more than Kalvin Phillips.
His start to this season has been rather stop-start because of a knee injury suffered this summer, but he now seems to be finally back at full fitness.
Chances of a January move? You know what, this might be possible for the right price.
4) Tom Cairney (Fulham)
He’s 33 and he can’t get a Premier League start. Imagine if they did though…
Chances of a January move? We think Cairney and Fulham would both be up for it…
5) Vitinha (PSG)
There was talk in August that PSG were ready to tie Vitinha down to an even longer contract (his current deal expires in 2027) because of mounting interest from Manchester City, but that contract is yet to become reality. Pep Guardiola was said to be very impressed with Vitinha’s versatility, with the Portugal international happy to play deep or in a more advanced role.
But a man who reportedly clashed with Lionel Messi seems to be settled at PSG, who are not about to sell one of their lynchpins mid-season.
Chances of a January move? Non.
6) Ross Barkley (Aston Villa)
“I think Ross is too young to make that move,” said Gareth Barry in 2015 when Barkley was seriously linked with Manchester City. “Everton is better for his development. He’s still learning the game. He’s got the right manager here to push him to the next level. As soon as he reaches that next level, then there’s another decision to be made.”
Is he there yet, Gareth? The statistics say that he is very similar to Rodri and who are we to argue with statistics?
Chances of a January move? It would not quite be Cairney ridiculous, but close…
7) Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan)
Manchester City are reported to have ‘tested the waters’ with Reijnders and found the waters a little tepid as he seems very devoted to the Milan cause and could extend his contract as far as 2030.
The draw is obvious: He is an intelligent ball-player who could play in Rodri’s position or further forward, and at 26 he is in the right age bracket. But City can join a rather long queue that also features Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta said to be obsessed with the Dutchman.
Chances of a January move? It would take an astronomical figure and a change of heart from Reijnders, so highly unlikely.
8) Fabian Ruiz (PSG)
The third PSG midfielder and the most likely to have his head turned by Manchester City; he is said to be unhappy at PSG after starting less than half their Ligue Un games after the arrival of Joao Neves. There is persistent talk of him not seeing eye to eye with Luis Enrique, who famously did not include Ruiz in his World Cup squad when he was Spain coach.
Having been key to Spain winning Euro 2024, he will surely not be happy to spend too much time on the PSG bench.
“Fabian Ruiz, I watched him play in the Champions League for Napoli and the way he moves…he’s a bit better on the ball than Rodri. He can play better balls probably forward,” said Micah Richards this summer.
Chances of a January move? This could be a goer.
9) Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
He’s really good. You might have heard of him.
Chances of a January move? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
10) Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Reportedly monitored extensively by Manchester City before he joined Chelsea in January 2023, the £100m-plus Argentine is not guaranteed a Premier League start with the Blues, with Enzo Maresca often preferring a double pivot of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Fernandez has been linked with an exit to Barcelona and Inter Milan, but he would surely be tempted by any suggestion that he could join City, even if it were on loan with a view to a permanent exit to the Etihad or elsewhere. And it would be fascinating to the rest of us to see if Guardiola could unlock the World Cup winner from the version currently shuffling around Stamford Bridge.
Chances of a January move? Not the daftest idea we’ve heard…
