Manchester City have agreed a deal to sell Rodri to Barcelona, but there is plenty of work left to bring in players who will excite fans.
Rodri's exit confirmed after Barcelona bids
After two bids from Barcelona that fell well short, an agreement was reached last week to end Rodri's seven years at the club. City do not make a point of keeping unhappy players when the money is good enough, even though it makes things harder for Enzo Maresca and difficult for fans to say goodbye.
Rodri travelled with the team last season to support them even when injured, but he was the last to arrive for pre-season and did not appear in Cardiff for the Community Shield. As Maresca said this week, it is difficult to convince players to stay when they have already decided to leave.
Arsenal defeat exposes midfield issues
The confirmation comes after a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, which does not make Blues feel any better. Mateo Kovacic was overrun in Sunday's loss as the sole holding midfielder, and with the caveat that too much should not be read into one friendly, City do not look to have the personnel to best Arsenal or take control of their opening Premier League games.
What they need is movement of their own: confirmation of a deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi, progress on Enzo Fernandez, or a swoop for another midfielder elsewhere. It does not necessarily matter what the immediate riposte is, but City and their empire have to strike back quickly.
Bouaddi and Fernandez on the agenda
Bouaddi is the closest to being done, but it has been lined up for so long without competition other than Lille's resistance to selling him that the excitement has dribbled away. It will return, but a teenager cannot be seen as a Rodri replacement when the World Cup winner adds to the wealth of experience that has walked out of the Etihad door this summer.
Moving for Fernandez would be an enormous statement of intent, whatever concerns many fans may have. Given the deadline Chelsea unofficially set, putting pressure on a rival to sell with a monster bid would be a serious sign - if it gets over the line.
Need for swift action
As they did in 2019 after losing 5-2 at home to Leicester, when City paid up for Ruben Dias, the Blues are at a point where they just need to do something. Whether it is the right call or not, the club have to trust that it will be right enough for what is required.
That could be an overreaction to a friendly defeat, but City have been stuck for weeks. Getting Elliot Anderson done before the World Cup finished was good business, but there has not been enough since, and the Blues look undercooked for the beginning of the season.
There are only two games before the window closes, yet that could make the ultimate difference after the final two games. Maresca spelt out the obvious after the Arsenal loss, saying the sooner City get new players through the door the better. Selling Rodri is much-needed progress, and now City need to show they can be swift about a replacement to send the message that they are getting to where they need to be as the season looms.
