Potential successors to Rodri at Manchester City
Enzo Maresca, six weeks into his tenure as Manchester City manager, faces the prospect of replacing Rodri after the Spain midfielder has been strongly linked with a return to his native country. Rodri is a World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d'Or winner who is in the final year of his Manchester City contract.
City have already rejected a £38.5m bid from Barcelona amid reported interest from Real Madrid, leaving Maresca with a possible selection and recruitment challenge. Rodri, 30, helped Manchester City win the Treble in 2023 and then triumph at the Euros with Spain a year later before an anterior cruciate ligament injury disrupted his dominance; he showed glimpses of form for City last season and captained Spain to World Cup success in the summer.
Bouaddi (age 18, Morocco, Lille) has been the subject of transfer talk all summer, with City reportedly holding talks and the teenager said to be keen on a move that would cost an estimated £85m. The source states Bouaddi impressed at this summer's World Cup after a starring role in Lille's Champions League victory over Real Madrid in 2024, and describes him as a deep-lying conductor similar to Rodri. He would be expected to complement summer signing Elliot Anderson, who is described as more of a box-to-box midfielder, and Bouaddi made 30 Ligue 1 appearances last season.
Enzo Fernandez (age 25, Argentina, Chelsea) is described as City’s favoured option and someone Maresca worked with at Chelsea; Chelsea are expected to hold out for a £120m valuation. The article notes City have already spent £116m on Elliot Anderson and that Maresca made Fernandez captain at Chelsea in the absence of Reece James; it adds that no-one has made more Premier League appearances under Maresca than the Argentine. Fernandez returned to Chelsea training this week after helping Argentina reach the World Cup final, where he was sent off as they lost to Spain, and Chelsea have set a deadline of 17:00 BST on Friday for any offers for him.
The piece records Fernandez’s output last season as 15 goals and seven assists in 54 appearances and states he leads this list of options for successful passes, passes into the box and successful passes into the final third. It also reports Chelsea are said to be willing to fully reintegrate him into the squad and continue to regard him as a key player.
Ryan Scott (age 22, England, Bournemouth) has been explored by City this summer and has rejected contract offers from the Cherries amid interest from other Premier League clubs, while his current deal runs to 2028 and Bournemouth have expressed a desire to keep him. The article says Bournemouth rejected a £64m bid from Chelsea last month and rebuffed advances from Arsenal, and that Scott’s energy, ball-carrying, passes into the box and ability to win duels suit Maresca’s possession-focused style.
Alexis Mac Allister (age 27, Argentina, Liverpool) is also mentioned as a player City have explored; he is described as having two years remaining on his contract at Anfield and as a consistent presence in Liverpool’s midfield during his time there. The source states Mac Allister struggled for form during a troublesome 2025-26 season, that he is a Premier League winner who can play as a holding midfielder or a box-to-box option, and that he is the oldest candidate on this list.
The article notes that should Rodri depart, City would be relatively short of leaders after the exits of Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake, and reports Maresca is believed to want a homegrown player in a leadership group that currently includes Rodri, Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland. On leadership, Maresca is quoted: "Erling was one of the first to send a message when I joined the club," said Maresca. "At Leicester and Chelsea I had a rule that when we scored the captain had to come to the bench, not to celebrate, but for instructions. But if he scores, then he can celebrate. "If Erling is the captain, we have a problem... can you imagine?" The piece adds that Phil Foden captained City during pre-season, Gianluigi Donnarumma is a vocal presence on the pitch and Marc Guehi skippered former club Crystal Palace.
Chelsea’s 17:00 BST Friday deadline for offers for Fernandez is presented in the article as a concrete timetable intended to resolve uncertainty over his future before the season, with Chelsea said to be prepared to fully reintegrate him into their squad and continue to regard him as a key player.
