Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has tipped Manchester City to look for a new midfielder in January following the ‘horrible’ injury blow to Rodri last weekend.
The Spain international is expected to be out for the season with an ACL injury and that could prove damaging to the Cityzens’ Premier League title hopes.
Shearer knows exactly what Rodri will be going through after tearing his ACL twice in his career and believes Pep Guardiola could be forced into the transfer market in January to provide cover for him.
“There’s no doubt that a potential season-ending injury to Rodri will have an impact on Man City’s title hopes,” Shearer told Betfair.
“He’s one of their best players, he’s been the boss in that position for a while now and we all know how important he is. It’s one thing knowing you’re not having him for two or three games, like they had at the beginning of the season, but it’s another thing knowing that he’s probably not going to come back this season.
“That’s a big blow and I don’t care who you are and what resources you’ve got – and Man City have a lot – when you lose a player of that calibre and quality, for that amount of time, there’s no doubt it’ll hurt them.
“Rodri has been the best in that position and we know what he does and how much he stops the opposition. Not only that, but it’s also what he gives to them as a leader.”
Shearer: ‘It’s horrible – it’s a long road back’
We exclusively revealed on Tuesday that Man City have a four-man shortlist of midfield targets that they could act on in January now Rodri is sidelined with a long-term injury.
And Shearer believes that the Cityzens may well decide to splash the cash on a Rodri replacement this winter.
“There’s no doubt that Man City have some good players to come in – and maybe they’ll dip into the transfer market in January if they can,” Shearer said.
“But in terms of an impact, this does have one. It has an impact for Man City – and it also has one for the rest of the league who are chasing, particularly the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool or whoever that may be.
“If you lost someone who was a squad player or someone you could replace, it’s still a big blow, but not so much when you’ve got someone of equal ability to come in.
“Man City don’t have that because Rodri is the best at what he does in world football, so that’ll give other clubs the opportunity to go and make the most of someone else’s misfortune.”
On whether Rodri will be the same once he recovers, Shearer added: “I’ve been there myself in terms of an ACL injury and I was out for six or seven months so I know exactly how Rodri will feel and how the football club will feel. It’s a long road back.
“It’s horrible, it really is. It’s devastating because what you love doing most is going into training, having the craic with the lads, then obviously playing football, and that’s been taken away from you for however long.
“Whether it’s five months, six months, seven months or whatever it may be, it’s a long road back.
“You’ve got the operation, if Rodri is going to have that, then you’re in a rest period and then you’re in rehab period. It’s a long road back and you have to be really strong mentally to get over it.”
Man City have four-man Rodri replacement shortlist – sources
In terms of midfielders Man City are interested in, we understand that Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton is admired greatly by the club’s hierarchy.
He is viewed as a player that could fill in for Rodri and also be his long-term replacement too. The Eagles won’t let him go for cheap in January, but TEAMtalk sources have said that they will be lucky to keep hold of him beyond next summer.
Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella has also been shortlisted by Man City, although they could reportedly face competition from Manchester United for his signature.
Atalanta’s Ederson, along with Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi, who is a target for Liverpool and Arsenal, are also admired by the Cityzens.
Replacing Rodri will be no easy task, but Man City may well be busy in the January window.
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