With Rodri on his way out, Manchester City are in talks to sign an £85m midfielder - but is he good enough to replace the Spaniard?
The news that Manchester City had agreed to sell Rodri to Barcelona for an estimated £65m didn’t come as a surprise, but it does add a fresh layer of uncertainty as the club prepares for life after Pep Guardiola. It’s a deal which confirms what we already knew – this is the end of a wildly successful era, and City are know heading off into the unknown.
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Rodri, the Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder who inspired the treble run in the 2022/23 season, always looked likely to leave. He’s 30 years old and has spent most of the last two years on the sidelines thanks to serious injuries. But he was also quite superb for Spain at the World Cup, and his successor in the heart of the midfield will have some rather big boots to step into. That successor seems set to be Ayyoub Bouaddi.
On Monday, BBC Sport reported that Manchester City were in advanced talks to sign the 18-year-old from Lille in a deal which could be worth around £85m. It’s a huge gamble on a wildly talented player – so is he up to the task of replacing Rodri?
Ayyoub Bouaddi is set to be Rodri’s replacement at Manchester City
Ayyoub Bouaddi is the youngest player in Lille's history - he made his debut one day after his 16th birthdayplaceholder image
Ayyoub Bouaddi is the youngest player in Lille's history - he made his debut one day after his 16th birthday | Getty Images
Given his tender age, it may be reasonable to assume that Bouaddi will be more of an investment in the future than an immediate starter – but the teenager has made a habit of stepping up ahead of schedule.
On his 17th birthday, Bouaddi was named in the starting line-up for a Champions League match against Real Madrid. He was brilliant, controlling the midfield for long periods and walking off to a standing ovation – and a rendition of Happy Birthday – from the Lille fans as they celebrated a famous 1-0 win. He has been a regular starter for the French side ever since.
That ability to rise to the challenge put in front of him was in evidence again during the World Cup. Making just his fourth appearance for Morocco – he switched allegiance from France ahead of the tournament – he was utterly outstanding in the opening game against Brazil and was arguably the best player on the field. Whenever Bouaddi has been thrust into a match for which he might have been deemed too inexperienced, he has shone.
He may not be a nailed-on starter from the get-go at the Etihad, of course. Manchester City have already invested £116m in Elliot Anderson, and Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovačić will take their share of the minutes, among others. But City are not preparing to spend £85m – a fee which would make him one of the Premier League’s five most expensive acquisitions of the summer as it stands – on a bench-warmer.
Bouaddi will be a part of the starting rotation under new head coach Enzo Maresca at the very least, and while the conceptualisation of the teenager as a direct replacement for Rodri is somewhat unfair – Anderson’s arrival was in part predicated on the possibility that the Spaniard would move on – the timing of the news that City are involved in negotiations makes the narrative irresistible. The old hand is making way, and the new broom is on the way with hopes of one day outshining him.
It remains possible that some of that pressure will be eased (not that pressure ever seems to have bothered Bouaddi) by a more senior midfield signing. Although City did not meet Chelsea’s deadline to start negotiations, they may yet make a move for Enzo Fernández, while Alexis Mac Allister also appears to be a potential target. Perhaps Bouaddi begins his City career as a back-up in the end – but those deals remain no more than rumoured possibilities.
Whether he is crowbarred into the starting line-up immediately or is given time to ease himself in, Bouaddi has been signed with the expectation that he becomes a star. It’s an expectation that he has created himself through stellar performances – but he’s still got some way to go before he can replicate everything that Rodri did during the Guardiola years.
Why Bouaddi isn’t ready to replace Rodri - yet
Bouaddi started five of Morocco's six matches at the 2026 World Cupplaceholder image
Bouaddi started five of Morocco's six matches at the 2026 World Cup | Getty Images
The 2025/26 season was, according to common consensus, a down year for Rodri, at least until the World Cup. Having missed almost the entirety of the previous year due to a torn cruciate ligament, he was restricted to 21 Premier League appearances as a result of persistent knee and hamstring problems. He never gave the impression that he had built up a head of steam.
It’s an impression that’s supported by the stats. Rodri was creating fewer chances, completing fewer passes and forcing fewer turnovers than he had prior to the injuries. His immense influence was diminished.
Despite that, the data suggests that he was still more productive and more destructive than Bouaddi was in Ligue 1. The table below shows a side-by-side comparison of the numbers put up by either player in league matches last season – and a seemingly lesser version of Rodri still outshone the 18-year-old across most key metrics.
Stats from Sofascore and taken from the 2025/26 Premier League and Ligue 1 seasons onlyplaceholder image
Stats from Sofascore and taken from the 2025/26 Premier League and Ligue 1 seasons only | Iconic Media Group
Stats don’t tell the whole story, of course, but they do tell part of it: Bouaddi, as brilliant as he is, as easily as he passes the eye test, still doesn’t grab games by the scruff of the neck at the elite level as often as Rodri does even now. He’s also a less well-rounded player, although that’s a comment that can be made about almost every midfielder that money could conceivably buy.
While Bouaddi is capable of getting from box-to-box and is excellent at progressing play from deep positions, Rodri had a huge impact in the final third at his best both in terms of creating chances – which he did at double the rate of Bouaddi last season – and scoring them. Rodri scored nine goals in the 2023/24 season. That’s nine more than Bouaddi has scored in his entire senior career.
Bouaddi doesn’t have Rodri’s vision, passing range or precision. They may come in time – the fact that he is only 18 puts a colossal asterisk next to every statistic here – but there are many areas in which he isn’t ready to contribute quite as much as Rodri did even when seemingly unable to find his best form. If he is meant to have an immediate impact, as the price tag suggests that he should, then it may be less of an impact than Manchester City fans have become accustomed to.
Rodri, after all, was the driving force behind the greatest and most sustained successes of the post-takeover era at the Etihad – and when injuries forced him from the field and then made it difficult for him to find his form, the title went to other teams. Asking Bouaddi to be the driving force behind another run of silverware may be asking too much, for now at least.
He does have some qualities that Rodri doesn’t. It might be generous to say of any midfielder that they have better technique than the Spaniard, but Bouaddi has an instinctive first touch and outstanding close control which manifests itself in the ability to carry the ball past opposing midfielders most often and more reliably than Rodri could. The departing veteran relied on his passing game, but Bouaddi has another string to his bow, and it’s that capacity to drive the ball downfield alone that makes him able to progress play quickly and dangerously.
Rodri did just about everything, creator and destroyer in one package. Bouaddi is growing rapidly as a defender, provides a fine base for possession and can spark attacks, but lacks the killer final pass or the innate ability to read opposing attacks and shut them down before they get going.
That may all come in time, but the stats reveal a simple truth – if Bouaddi is meant to be Rodri’s replacement, and the £85m price tag suggests that he’s certainly expected to be something from the start even if a player like Mac Allister or Fernández ends up signing, then he still has quite a long way to go.
It will probably come in time. The speed at which Bouaddi has developed, the fundamental quality of his football and the readiness he has demonstrated every time that more has been asked of him suggest an incredibly bright future. But he isn’t Rodri. He may never be Rodri. Few ever will be.