caughtoffside
·12 December 2024
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·12 December 2024
Man City are on the lookout for Rodri replacements heading into the January transfer window and one of their targets is said to have reservations about moving to the Etihad Stadium in 2025.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has been out of action since the start of the season having suffered a serious knee injury in City’s clash with Arsenal.
The absence of the Spanish international has had a major impact on the Premier League champions as Pep Guardiola’s side have won just one out of their last 10 games – leaving them fourth in the Premier League and 22nd in the Champions League.
This can be viewed as a crisis at Man City as the Manchester club have not seen this sort of form in many years.
Guardiola is set to rebuild his squad in 2025 and one of his targets is Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi. City have been linked to the Euro 2024 winner since October as the player has a €60m release clause in his current contract, but the 25-year-old is believed to have doubts over moving to the Etihad.
Martin Zubimendi in action for Real Sociedad. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
It is being reported by The Telegraph that a rebuild is coming at Man City and that Guardiola is interested in Zubimendi.
The Spanish midfielder is said to have reservations about the prospect of playing the role of understudy to Rodri once he returns and could wait until the summer to determine his future instead of the January window.
This will be a big boost for Liverpool as the Reds made Zubimendi their number-one transfer target this summer but ultimately failed to land the La Liga star.
Arne Slot is light in the number six role with Ryan Gravenberch playing the majority of games there for the new Liverpool boss. The Dutch talent has started every Premier League and Champions League match so far for the Merseyside club, which will take its toll later in the campaign.
Zubimendi would be a great addition to the current Liverpool squad and if he decides to wait until the summer to decide his future, that plays into the hands of the Premier League leaders.