Manchester City Plan for Life Without Rodri
Manchester City are already living in a world beyond Rodri.
With the influential Spaniard closing in on a move to Barcelona, the Premier League champions have started sketching out life without the player who has been their metronome, shield and security blanket for years. According to talkSPORT, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister has emerged on that shortlist – a name that raises eyebrows on both sides of the title divide.
Rodri exit forces City’s hand
Inside the Etihad, the expectation is clear: Rodri is going. The World Cup-winning midfielder is finalising a switch to Camp Nou, with reports suggesting a £55 million package is in the advanced stages and could be wrapped up within days. For Enzo Maresca, only weeks into the job, it is a brutal early test.
Replacing a player of Rodri’s stature is not a routine recruitment task; it is a structural rebuild. City have already moved aggressively in the market, paying £116m for Elliot Anderson early in the window, a statement of intent and a nod to the future.
The project will not stop there.
Bouaddi close, but experience still needed
City are deep in negotiations with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi, the highly rated Moroccan teenager. Personal terms are in place, the framework of the deal is understood, and there is a quiet confidence that the move will happen.
Yet even as they chase one of Europe’s most exciting young midfielders, there is a recognition inside the club that youth alone cannot replace Rodri. The dressing room will need another voice, another brain, someone who has already lived the rhythm of a Premier League title race.
That is where Mac Allister enters the conversation.
Mac Allister on the radar
The Argentine is approaching the final two years of his Liverpool contract, a natural pressure point in modern recruitment. Since arriving from Brighton in 2023, he has been a regular in the Reds’ starting XI, his performances oscillating during what became a turbulent campaign at Anfield.
Strip away the noise, though, and the résumé is powerful. A central figure in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph. A key cog in Liverpool’s 2024/25 title-winning side. A midfielder comfortable as a tactical anchor, capable of dictating tempo, knitting play, and understanding complex positional demands.
For City, that profile is gold. A proven Premier League performer who should, in theory, step into Maresca’s intricate system without a long bedding-in period.
Transfer specialist Ben Jacobs offered a glimpse into the discussions taking place at City.
“I know internally Alexis McAllister 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 told talkSPORT.
So, for now, Mac Allister is a name on a board, not a deal in motion.
Maresca’s wishlist and the market reality
Mac Allister is not the only midfielder being weighed up. Maresca, stepping into his first Premier League job, is leaning on familiar reference points and trusted profiles.
The Italian is understood to admire Enzo Fernandez, whom he worked with at Chelsea. Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton has also been linked, his rapid rise in south London not going unnoticed at the Etihad.
Jacobs lifted the lid further on those preferences and the financial realities shaping them.
“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,” he explained.
That is the crux of City’s midfield puzzle: ambition versus cost. Fernandez would command a huge fee. Wharton is under long-term contract at a club with no need to sell. Mac Allister, with two years left and a slightly different contractual landscape, sits in a more intriguing – if politically explosive – space.
Liverpool’s dilemma
For Liverpool, the idea of Mac Allister in sky blue is close to unthinkable.
He was one of their standout performers in the season they reclaimed the Premier League crown, scoring five goals from midfield and earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year. His blend of intelligence, composure and work rate made him central to their structure under pressure.
The most recent campaign told a harsher story. As Liverpool slid to a fifth-place finish, Mac Allister found himself under scrutiny, with sections of the fanbase calling for him to be dropped. Yet scouts and analysts across the division continue to value his underlying numbers and tactical awareness. Clubs at the top level see a player who reads the game at speed and rarely hides from responsibility.
Would Liverpool even pick up the phone if City called? That is the towering obstacle in any potential move. Selling a primary midfielder to a direct rival would not just weaken the squad; it would send a message about where Liverpool see themselves in the hierarchy of English football.
City, though, are planning for a future without Rodri. Names are being circled, lists refined, strategies redrawn. Somewhere on that board, Alexis Mac Allister’s name is underlined – a symbol of just how big a hole the Spaniard will leave, and how far the champions may be willing to go to fill it.
