Barcelona pushes for Rodri as City eyes Enzo Fernández
Barcelona have raised the stakes in their pursuit of Rodri, lodging an improved offer of around €60m (£51m) with Manchester City as they push to prise the midfielder away from the Etihad.
City dismissed an opening bid of €45m out of hand, but the new proposal is understood to sit far nearer their internal valuation of the 30-year-old, who captained Spain to World Cup glory and collected the Ballon d’Or in 2024. With Rodri having made clear his preference for a move to Barcelona, the sense around the deal is no longer if, but when.
City brace for Rodri exit
City have been preparing for this moment. Rodri has been the metronome and the shield in front of the defence for years, but his determination to join Barça has forced the champions to accelerate succession plans.
At the top of their list: Chelsea captain Enzo Fernández.
City have identified the Argentina international as a potential replacement, though Chelsea’s stance is firm. The west London club value Fernández at around £120m and are intent on holding that line. Any agreement is expected to be heavily structured, with add-ons likely to play a major role if talks progress.
Enzo Maresca, now in charge at City, knows exactly what he would be getting. He worked with Fernández for a season and a half at Chelsea before his tenure ended in January, and leaned heavily on him during a campaign that saw Chelsea finish fourth, win the Europa Conference League in 2024-25 and lift the Fifa Club World Cup last summer.
The 25-year-old was central to that surge: a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, an on-ball organiser who also relishes the physical side of midfield battles. For a City side potentially losing Rodri’s authority, Fernández’s presence, leadership and combative streak would inject instant seniority into Maresca’s dressing room.
Knock-on effects in midfield
If City manage to land Fernández, the dominoes will start to fall. Another midfielder is expected to make way, with Tijjani Reijnders viewed as a possible departure to balance both the squad and the books.
City have already spent heavily this window. Elliott Anderson has arrived from Nottingham Forest in a £116m deal, while a move for Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, valued at around £85m, is close. Slotting a nine-figure Fernández deal into that spending would almost certainly force an exit from the current midfield group.
Chelsea, aware of the growing noise around their captain, have begun to explore replacements. They are thought to have enquired about Bournemouth’s Alex Scott as a potential successor should Fernández leave Stamford Bridge. Scott’s profile – young, technically sharp, Premier League-tested – fits the club’s recent recruitment model and offers a pathway if City do come calling with a serious offer.
Rulli returns as Trafford departs
Amid the turbulence in midfield, City have quietly completed business at the other end of the pitch. On Wednesday they announced the signing of Gerónimo Rulli on a two-year deal, following James Trafford’s move to Leeds.
For Rulli, it is a return rather than a new adventure. The Argentina goalkeeper was previously on City’s books in 2016-17 and now comes back at 35 to add experience and depth to the goalkeeping department.
“My job now is to train hard, get to know the players and staff and do everything I can,” he said after signing.
City’s summer is starting to take shape: Anderson through the door, Bouaddi close, Rulli confirmed, and a huge decision looming over Rodri. If Barcelona finally get their man and Fernández follows him through the revolving door of Europe’s elite, the balance of power in two midfields could shift in a single, brutal swing of the market.
