One of the most high-profile transfer moves of the European summer window has moved toward completion, as Spanish champions Barcelona have struck an agreement to sign 2024 Ballon d’Or winner and Spain national team captain Rodri from Premier League giants Manchester City for a transfer fee of approximately £65 million. The 30-year-old defensive midfielder, who lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy with Spain this summer as tournament captain and earned Player of the Tournament honors, is set to put pen to paper on a four-year contract with the Catalan club. The formal completion of the transfer is widely expected to be finalized in the coming days, capping a seven-year trophy-laden tenure for Rodri at the Etihad Stadium.
Rodri arrived at Manchester City back in 2019 from Atletico Madrid for what was then a club-record transfer fee of £62.8 million. Across seven seasons, he made 298 appearances for the Sky Blues, cementing his status as one of the world’s finest holding midfielders and helping the club collect 12 major domestic and European honors. His trophy haul at City includes four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups, and the iconic 2022-23 Champions League crown that sealed the club’s historic treble. His recent two seasons have been disrupted by significant injury setbacks: he missed the bulk of the 2024-25 campaign with a serious knee injury, and battled recurring hamstring issues that interrupted parts of the 2025-26 season. Even so, Rodri returned to peak form for this summer’s World Cup, leading a young Spanish side to their second-ever world title and reaffirming his elite level ahead of the move to his home country’s top flight.
With Rodri’s exit all but confirmed, all attention has turned to who Manchester City will bring in to replace the irreplaceable midfield anchor. The club’s long-rumored interest in Chelsea’s Argentine midfield star Enzo Fernandez has been the biggest talking point of the chase, even after the Blues’ stated Friday deadline for offers passed without a formal bid from City. Chelsea set a 17:00 BST deadline for interested parties to submit an offer for the 25-year-old, valuing their vice-captain at a steep £120 million. As of the deadline, Chelsea confirmed no formal bids had been received, and the London club currently expects to retain Fernandez for the coming season.
Despite the missed deadline, Manchester City does not view the potential deal as dead, multiple sources close to the club have indicated. City’s hierarchy still believes Chelsea remains open to negotiating a sale if the right offer is tabled. A £120 million transfer for Fernandez would make the move the fourth-most expensive in football history, highlighting the scale of the potential deal. For City manager Enzo Maresca, Fernandez is a well-known talent: during Maresca’s tenure as Chelsea head coach, he gave the Argentine 79 appearances out of his 92 total games in charge at Stamford Bridge, even naming Fernandez stand-in captain when first-choice skipper Reece James was sidelined with injury. Though Fernandez is a natural defensive midfielder, Maresca regularly deployed him further up the pitch during Cole Palmer’s injury absence last season, a tactical shift that saw Fernandez net a career-high 15 goals. This positional versatility means he could slot into multiple roles in Maresca’s City system if a transfer goes through. City already added England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest in this window, giving Maresca the flexibility to field both Anderson and Fernandez together in the same midfield if needed.
If a deal for Fernandez ultimately falls through, Manchester City has no shortage of backup targets lined up to fill the Rodri-shaped hole. Long-running rumors have linked the club with 18-year-old Moroccan midfield talent Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille, with reports confirming City has held exploratory talks over a transfer that would cost an estimated £85 million. The young teenager is reportedly eager to make the move to the Premier League champions, after a breakout 12 months that saw him star in Lille’s shock Champions League win over Real Madrid in 2024 before turning in an impressive performance at this summer’s World Cup. Like Rodri, Bouaddi operates as a deep-lying playmaker, and his profile would perfectly complement Anderson, who is a more dynamic box-to-box midfielder. Even at 18, Bouaddi already boasts 30 senior Ligue 1 appearances under his belt, giving him a level of top-flight experience unusual for his age, a valuable asset as City also looks to replace the departed Bernardo Silva this summer.
Another name under consideration is Bournemouth’s 22-year-old England international Alex Scott. City have explored a potential move for Scott this window, though the Cherries have already stood firm against approaches from other top Premier League sides. Scott has rejected new contract offers from Bournemouth amid the transfer speculation, but his current deal runs until 2028, and the south coast club has repeatedly made clear it has no intention to sell. Last month, Bournemouth rejected a £64 million bid from Chelsea for Scott, and has also knocked back approaches from Arsenal. The young midfielder’s high energy, ball-carrying ability, sharp distribution in the final third and strong duel-winning ability align closely with Maresca’s possession-focused tactical system, making him a very appealing target for City.
Maresca is also a reported admirer of Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. The World Cup winner is entering the final two years of his contract at Anfield, and has been a consistently solid performer for the Reds since his arrival, though he endured a dip in form during the 2025-26 campaign. As a proven Premier League title winner, Mac Allister would bring immediate top-flight experience and would be a ready-made option to slot directly into City’s midfield.
For now, the landscape remains fluid: it is still unclear whether Manchester City can strike a deal for their top target Fernandez, or whether Chelsea will hold firm on their asking price and refusal to negotiate beyond their self-imposed deadline. What is certain is that the club is moving quickly to fill the gap left by a generational midfield talent as they prepare to defend their Premier League crown and compete for major honors once again.