Manchester City and Chelsea are both keeping an eye on Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic. Both clubs’ analytics reportedly show that the 21-year-old could be the closest thing to Rodri in European football right now. The big teams in the Premier League have done extensive scouting on the Germany international as they look to add more players to their midfield in the long term.
Since making his professional debut for Bayern Munich in October 2023, Pavlovic has become an important player for the team. This season, the Munich native has been a big part of the Champions League, starting all six group stage matches under manager Vincent Kompany.
Sources familiar with Manchester City’s scouting say Pavlovic has been internally identified as the player most similar to Rodri in terms of style and function in European football right now. The comparison is based on his ability to control the pace of the game, break through the other team’s lines with passing, and stay in his position.
Pavlovic has the best pass success rate of any central midfielder in the Bundesliga this season, at 94.2%. This shows why he has been getting attention from Premier League teams.
But it would be hard to get Pavlovic away from Bayern Munich because he hasn’t said he wants to leave his childhood club. Bayern sees the academy graduate as untouchable, and any transfer would cost more than €100 million. He signed a contract extension until 2029.
Chelsea are interested in players who will improve the team’s depth and long-term quality, not just players who are needed right away. The club want to keep up their high standards even after players like Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez leave. Manchester City’s pursuit shows they are thinking ahead about life after Rodri, who has had ongoing fitness problems since injuring his cruciate ligament last September.
Caicedo shines while Lavia’s injury problems worsen
When Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the summer of 2023, they thought they would be able to build a strong midfield partnership that would last for years.
Caicedo has lived up to those hopes and is now one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Chelsea spent a lot of money to bring him from Brighton, and his consistency and overall quality have made that money worth it.
Lavia has played only 30 times for Chelsea since moving from Southampton, and he has been on the bench in 78 games. Since coming to Stamford Bridge, the Belgian has never played a full 90 minutes because of hamstring and thigh problems that keep getting in the way.
He has missed 19 games this season alone, in addition to the 43 he missed last season. The constant injuries have led people to question Chelsea’s long-term plans for their midfield. The 21-year-old is definitely a good player when he’s healthy, but his continuous unavailability may force the club to rethink their midfield options sooner than they thought.