Split image - Pep Guardiola on the Man City bench with his hand on his forehead (left) close up of Florian Wirtz in action (right)
Split image - Pep Guardiola on the Man City bench with his hand on his forehead (left) close up of Florian Wirtz in action (right)
Winning the Premier League back from Liverpool will be Manchester City’s main goal this season.
After winning four English top-flight titles in a row, Pep Guardiola’s side put up a poor defence of their crown last time around, as Arne Slot’s men won the Premier League with relative ease.
In the offseason, the Merseyside club have strengthened significantly, beating Man City to the signing of Florian Wirtz, while Liverpool also completed a deal for Milos Kerkez and brought Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield.
All three stars were on the Manchester club’s radar heading into the summer, and it is now being reported that Liverpool are ready to move for another player Guardiola had his eyes on.
Real Madrid star Rodrygo in action against Al-Hilal in Club World Cup.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Liverpool enter the race for Rodrygo
Man City had an interest in Rodrygo this summer as it was unclear if the Brazilian was going to be part of Xabi Alonso’s plans at the Bernabeu for the upcoming campaign.
The FIFA Club World Cup has shown that the new Real Madrid boss will not be counting on the winger to be a major star for him over the next 12 months, which is why clubs such as Arsenal and now Liverpool are chasing the 24-year-old ahead of the Premier League kicking off next month.
According to Santi Aouna, Liverpool will make a move for Rodrygo soon, as the La Liga star is a player Slot is a fan of, and is likely to be Luis Diaz’s replacement should the Colombian leave Anfield.
Liverpool’s path to the winger is also easier than it would have been at the start of the season, as Man City no longer have an interest in Rodrygo.
However, this shows once again that both Premier League clubs have been shopping in the same store all summer, and the worry for Guardiola is that the Reds have come out on top most times.
How Rodrygo compares to Man City’s wingers
If the Club World Cup is anything to go by, Guardiola’s plan for the upcoming season is to deploy Savinho on the right, while using Jeremy Doku on the left, although Omar Marmoush is very likely to start in one of these roles come the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Marmoush is untouchable at Man City; therefore, had Rodrygo moved to the Etihad Stadium this summer, Guardiola could have lined up with Erling Haaland up front, with the Egyptian, Rayan Cherki, and Rodrygo behind the Norwegian superstar.
This would have been a very exciting attack for fans of the Manchester club to witness; however, with Doku and Savinho already part of Guardiola’s squad, the Premier League giants have opted to use that money to strengthen other areas of their squad that need immediate attention.
Only time will tell if Man City have made a mistake by not pursuing the Brazilian, as if the winger is to leave Real Madrid, he is very likely to end up at one of the Manchester club’s title rivals.