Vital Man City recently spoke about Rodri’s future at Manchester City, pondering why Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva were identified by Barcelona as a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets rather than the 26-year-old, but Wayne Veysey of Football Insider says the Catalan giants now have Rodri on their radar.
City reportedly ‘fear’ that the Spanish international will push for a summer exit amid interest from Barca as he’s ‘keen’ to return to his home country after four years in England. Rodri has made 31 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring one goal with five assists, but he’s delivered mixed performances of late while City’s results have been erratic.
The Sky Blues have lost four of their last 12 games across the board, have been knocked out of the EFL Cup and are five points adrift of Arsenal in the Premier League, so there’s not a lot going for them. Barcelona, however, are eight points clear in La Liga and are in the semi-final of the Copa Del Rey, so they’re an attractive proposition.
Rodri spent his career in Spain before joining City, playing for Atletico Madrid (47 appearances between 2018-2019) and Villarreal (84 appearances between 2013 – 2018), so he might yearn for a return. But with Gundogan and Silva potentially leaving City this summer, Pep Guardiola can’t afford to lose Rodri too.
In other news, Darren Ambrose ‘surprised’ that Pep Guardiola dropped Phil Foden
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