Rodri's Future at Manchester City: Potential Replacements for Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca has barely had time to settle into his office at Manchester City. Six weeks in, and the first defining call of his reign is already looming into view.
Rodri, the metronome of City’s modern era, is edging towards the exit door.
The 30-year-old is in the final year of his contract, his name circling around Spain’s two superclubs. City have already turned down a £38.5m bid from Barcelona after interest from Real Madrid, but the direction of travel feels clear enough: Europe’s elite can smell an opportunity.
This is not just any midfielder potentially walking away. This is a World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d'Or winner, the anchor of the Treble in 2023 and then a European champion with Spain a year later. An anterior cruciate ligament injury checked his momentum, briefly, yet he still flashed enough quality for City last season before returning to full command as he led Spain to World Cup glory in the summer.
His stock has rarely been higher. His importance to City has rarely been clearer.
If he goes after seven seasons in Manchester, he leaves behind a crater, not a gap. Maresca, barely through the door, would have to rebuild the heart of his team.
So who could possibly follow him?
Azzedine Bouaddi – the teenage conductor
Age: 18
Country: Morocco
Club: Lille
The Bouaddi noise has been constant all summer. City have held talks with the Moroccan, who would cost around £85m, and those close to the situation suggest he wants the move.
He already looks built for this stage. Bouaddi announced himself with a starring role in Lille’s Champions League win over Real Madrid in 2024, then carried that form into the World Cup, where he impressed again. At 18, he has already put together 30 Ligue 1 appearances, playing with the assurance of someone far older.
His profile fits the Rodri template. Bouaddi operates as a deep-lying conductor, dictating tempo from the base of midfield, sliding passes between the lines and keeping his side ticking over. In Maresca’s possession-heavy blueprint, he would sit as the organiser while summer signing Elliot Anderson, more of a box-to-box runner, surges ahead of him.
This is not just about Rodri, either. Bernardo Silva’s departure has stripped City of another technical leader in midfield. Bouaddi’s experience, for his age, and his ability to orchestrate from deep make him a compelling answer to two problems at once.
He would be a long-term bet. But City have built an era on exactly that kind of conviction.
Enzo Fernandez – Maresca’s trusted lieutenant
Age: 25
Country: Argentina
Club: Chelsea
If Bouaddi is the future, Enzo Fernandez is the ready-made solution.
City have been heavily linked with the Argentine, and inside the Etihad he is seen as the current frontrunner. Maresca knows him, trusts him and has already built around him once.
At Chelsea, Maresca handed Fernandez the captain’s armband whenever Reece James was missing. That decision said as much about character as quality. In Rodri, City would be losing a leader as well as a midfielder; in Fernandez, Maresca sees someone who can carry both responsibilities.
The problem is the price. Chelsea value him at £120m, a huge fee given City have already committed £116m on Anderson. Chelsea have made their stance plain and set a deadline of 17:00 BST on Friday for any bids, determined to end the uncertainty before the season begins.
On the pitch, the numbers explain why Maresca is pushing. No player has made more Premier League appearances under him than Fernandez. His game is aggressive, forward-thinking: late runs into the box, constant attempts to break lines, a willingness to take risks in the final third.
Last season he scored 15 goals and supplied seven assists in 54 Chelsea appearances. Among the names on City’s shortlist, he leads the way for successful passes, passes into the box and completed balls into the final third. He returned to Chelsea training this week after helping Argentina reach the World Cup final, where he was sent off in defeat to Spain, but the London club remain ready to reintegrate him fully and still see him as a key figure.
If City want him, they will have to force the issue. And pay for it.
Alex Scott – the Premier League climber
Age: 22
Country: England
Club: Bournemouth
Then there is the Premier League option already proving himself on English soil.
City have sounded out a move for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott this summer. The 22-year-old has turned down new contract offers from the Cherries as interest from the division’s biggest clubs gathers pace, yet his current deal runs until 2028 and Bournemouth have been blunt: they want to keep him.
Their stance has teeth. Chelsea saw a £64m bid rejected last month and were told not to come back. Arsenal have also been rebuffed.
Scott’s appeal to Maresca is easy to understand. His energy, his ability to carry the ball through pressure and his willingness to take responsibility in possession all align with City’s model. He drives forward, wins duels, and finds team-mates in dangerous areas with passes into the box.
He would not arrive with Rodri’s aura or Fernandez’s medals. But as a high-upside, homegrown midfielder already thriving in the league, he offers something different: a player who could grow into the role while giving Maresca the intensity and technical quality he demands.
Rodri has been the constant in City’s most dominant years, the calm at the centre of the storm. If he walks away now, Maresca’s tenure starts with a brutal exam.
Does he gamble big on Bouaddi’s potential, lean on Fernandez’s proven pedigree, or back Scott to leap another level?
The answer will shape not just City’s midfield, but the direction of the Maresca era itself.
