Manchester City Plans for Life Without Rodri: Who Will Replace Him?
Manchester City are planning for life without Rodri. And that reality, once unthinkable at the Etihad, is starting to bite.
The Spaniard, the metronome of City’s modern era, is edging towards a move to Barcelona, with talks over a £55 million deal said to be in the final stretch. For a club that has built its dominance on control, losing the man who provides it is not just a tactical headache. It is a structural shock.
Maresca’s first crisis
Enzo Maresca has barely settled into the manager’s office and already faces the defining question of his early reign: who replaces Rodri?
City have not waited for the ink to dry on any Barcelona contract. Their recruitment team has been working the problem all summer, and the first answer came early in the window with the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson. A bold fee, a clear statement. But not the full solution.
Talks are also progressing with Lille over Ayyoub Bouaddi, the highly rated Moroccan teenager. Personal terms are in place, the belief in his potential is strong, yet nobody inside the Etihad pretends a teenager can immediately shoulder the responsibility Rodri leaves behind. Experience is non‑negotiable in that role.
That is where Alexis Mac Allister enters the conversation.
Mac Allister on the shortlist
According to talkSPORT, Liverpool’s World Cup winner has emerged as a surprise candidate as City draw up contingency plans. Surprise, yes. Illogical, no.
Mac Allister is moving into the final two years of his Anfield contract. Since joining from Brighton in 2023, he has been a regular in Liverpool’s starting XI, enduring the same turbulence that gripped the club during a difficult campaign last term. His form dipped with the team’s, his performances scrutinised as the Reds stumbled to a fifth-place finish.
Strip away the noise and the profile remains compelling. Mac Allister anchored Argentina’s midfield on their way to the 2022 World Cup and played a central role in Liverpool’s 2024/25 title-winning season. He reads the game, takes the ball under pressure, and understands positional play at elite level. For a coach like Maresca, who leans heavily on structure and automatisms, that matters.
Transfer insider Ben Jacobs lifted the lid on City’s internal discussions, speaking to talkSPORT.
“I know internally Alexis Mac Allister has been mentioned, but there's been no contact yet, or developments with Liverpool. So that's just more part of a shortlisting process than anything to get excited about,” he said.
So this is not a bid. Not yet. It is a name on a board, circled, debated, weighed against cost and feasibility.
Big names, bigger price tags
Mac Allister is not the only midfielder on City’s radar. Maresca’s admiration for Enzo Fernandez goes back to their shared time at Chelsea, and the Argentina international fits the profile of a deep-lying orchestrator who can dictate tempo. Adam Wharton, the rising star at Crystal Palace, has also been linked with a move to the Etihad after a breakout Premier League campaign.
The problem is obvious: price.
“Some people have mentioned Adam Wharton to me as well. So possibly in a perfect world, if Maresca had his say, he might choose to move for Enzo Fernandez. We can't entirely discount it, but the price is a massive stumbling block. And at the moment, City's focus is on trying to get Bouaddi over the line,” Jacobs added.
City can spend, but even they have limits, particularly with multiple targets in play and a squad that still needs fine-tuning beyond the Rodri conundrum. That is why Mac Allister, with his contract situation and proven Premier League record, becomes an intriguing middle ground between raw potential and eye-watering cost.
Liverpool’s dilemma
For Liverpool, the equation is far more emotional.
Mac Allister was a key figure in their most recent title triumph, scoring five league goals from midfield and earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year. He has been both creator and organiser, a bridge between defence and attack in a side still evolving after major midfield surgery in recent seasons.
Letting that player leave is one thing. Letting him leave to Manchester City is another entirely.
The optics would be brutal: a core midfielder, in his prime, crossing the divide to strengthen a direct title rival. The footballing logic would be questioned, the ambition of the Anfield hierarchy scrutinised. Even with two years left on his deal, and even if a hefty fee arrived, any offer from City would test Liverpool’s resolve in a way few bids can.
Yes, Mac Allister faced criticism in the latter part of last season as Liverpool’s form collapsed. Some called for him to be dropped, others questioned his best position. Yet scouts and analysts across the league still rate his underlying numbers and tactical intelligence. Those qualities do not vanish with one bad run of results.
A transfer tightrope
For now, this sits in the realm of planning rather than action. Rodri’s move to Barcelona has not been officially announced, Mac Allister has not been approached, and City’s immediate priority remains securing Bouaddi.
But the outlines of a pivotal decision are already visible.
If Rodri leaves, City will not simply be signing a midfielder. They will be redefining the core of their side. Whether that leads them back to a familiar Premier League face in Mac Allister, or towards a blockbuster move for Enzo Fernandez, or a gamble on youth with Bouaddi and Wharton, will say plenty about how Maresca intends to build his Manchester City.
And if the champions do come knocking for Mac Allister, the real test may not be City’s ambition, but Liverpool’s willingness to keep a rival at arm’s length in a title race that never really pauses.
