Manchester City are rebuilding, and while Pep Guardiola's current iteration of talent isn't quite as complete and devastating as years past, there's a sense this team might be capable of challenging for a slice of silverware or two this term.
It's been a stop-start few months in the Premier League, but City have claimed ten points from 12 and their 15-goal haul after seven matches eclipses every other side in the division.
Erling Haaland's brilliance cannot be put into words, and Gianluigi Donnarumma has been immense between the sticks so far. Pep's team is populated with talented individuals, and there's enough there to make this a special year.
Manchester-City-Erling-Haaland
However, Rodri remains a way below full fitness after his long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of last season, having been forced off at the weekend, a number of setbacks inflcited on him already.
Rodri's Man City future
Rodri is 29 and has been at Man City since arriving from Atletico Madrid for a club-record £63m fee in 2019. He has bloomed over the years and become one of the greatest midfielders of his generation and a pillar of Pep's legacy. In 2024, he was the Men's Ballon d'Or winner.
He hasn't been at his best so far this season, and that marks the key point of difference for the Sky Blues as they fight to reclaim their Premier League title.
Efforts have been made to package the midfield with more quality, differing skills and a presence which aligns with Rodri's own.
Nico Gonzalez joined City from Porto for £50m in February as Guardiola fought to rewrite his team amid an abject decline. However, the Spaniard, 23, remains an enigma, clearly talented but not quite bringing it all together in the Premier League.
Gonzalez-Man-City-Premier-League
Many aspiring midfielders have risen through the youth ranks in recent years, most finding their way elsewhere. Romeo Lavia would be a case in point, but injuries have ruined his two-year star at Chelsea.
Lavia had initially left for Southampton, and there he thrived. Saints have had their issues over the past year, but they have struck gold through the £15m signing of Shea Charles in 2023.
The former Citizen prospect looks to be one who got away.
Man City may regret selling Shea Charles
Charles is still only 21, but he's showing all the skills of a high-level midfielder in the making. Southampton may actually regret their decision to loan him out to Sheffield Wednesday last term; his robust midfield style might have been useful in the Premier League.
Shea Charles for Southampton
But he developed his skillset across the 2024/25 campaign, and he received praise from Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill for his progress last year, with the coach saying he "blows players away" with his quality on the ball and his skill in progression.
We are young into the campaign, but the Green and White Army talent is showing faculties that are perfect for Pep's Man City side. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 17% of midfielders in the Championship this term for shot-creating actions, the top 12% for pass completion, the top 6% for progressive carries and the top 10% for successful take-ons per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
And the table below emphasises the rising star's defensive qualities and his combative side. This level of completeness and athleticism underlines his potential, for sure, with EFL expert Ali Maxwell tipping him to become a "£60m player" in the future, should he keep going from strength to strength.
Shea Charles - Championship Stats 25/26
Stats (* per game)
Matches (starts)
Goals
Assists
Touches*
Accurate passes*
Chances created*
Dribbles*
Tackles + interceptions*
Duels (won)
Data via Sofascore
Rodri is irreplaceable, but here is a midfielder who shares the Spain superstar's tactical outlook, and under Guardiola's wing, he might become an elite player indeed, certainly capable of thriving in the Premier League.
Hailed by one Southampton content creator for being a "Rolls-Royce" of a player, City chiefs may well be casting their gaze back to the buyback rights inserted when he was sold a few years ago.
For him to return to the Etihad in the near future wouldn't be the greatest surprise in the world.