Manchester City are reportedly ready to trigger the £62.6 million release clause of Atlético Madrid star Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, better known as Rodri, according to BBC Sport.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s main focus has been defensive midfield in an important summer transfer window as the Blues aim for an even greater level of dominance both domestically and abroad. Replacing the 34-year old Fernandinho has been the central transfer-related theme for nearly the entire second half of last season, with Atlético Madrid’s Rodri appearing to be City’s chosen successor.
While he remains a relative unknown to many followers of the English game, Rodri is already one of the best holding midfielders in world football, despite being just 22 years of age. His meteoric rise to City, however, begins a year ago, when Atleti signed the player for £22.2 million from Villarreal after just missing out on the signing of Fabinho.
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The Spanish international quickly established himself as one of the best in La Liga with incredible tackling and intercepting ability defensively, while also possessing an immense range of passing that makes him a solid fit for Guardiola’s City side. At 6’3 tall, the player has been most often hailed as La Roja‘s successor to Sergio Busquets at the base of midfield, due to their ability to cover a back four.
Despite his immense talent, however, playing in the Premier League for City will prove an entirely different animal to his role and responsibilities at the Wanda Metropolitano. While playing in a defensive side like Atleti, Rodri was most often presented with defensive situations in midfield where he had significant cover behind him, a safety net allowing him to freely attempt tackles and interceptions aggressively in midfield. Per Bein Sports, Rodri has won 68% of his tackles this season in the league while making 41 interceptions and 67 clearances.
At City, however, this will not be the case. Setting up in the number six role at the base of midfield requires the player to serve as the tempo-setter in attack while also covering ground for fullbacks caught up the pitch and cutting off counter-attacks at the source. Moreover, Fernandinho is often tasked with three-on-three defensive situations with himself and the two center-backs facing an oncoming wave of pacy attackers. The key difference in Rodri’s game to Busquets, however, is that Rodri has much more ability to cover ground quickly, a key skill to fit into this City side.
While he will need to adapt to a new league and style of play, there is no doubt that his already-polished ability will allow him to succeed in the immediate and even improve into one of the next generation’s world-class midfielders.
The move has not been an easy process, as Atleti demanded that City pay the player’s full release clause, which would just narrowly break City’s current club transfer record of £60 million, paid last summer for Riyad Mahrez in his move from Leicester City. Moreover, Rodri seriously considered committing his long-term future to Diego Simeone and Los Colchoneros, but could not resist the opportunity to join Guardiola’s historically-great side, according to Goal.com.
The midfielder has all of the requisite tools to succeed in Guardiola’s system and be City’s solution long-term at arguably the most important position at the spine of the team. Therefore, given his immense talent and rise to the top of the Spanish game, City look as if they have found their man for the years to come.