Enzo Maresca urges Man City to replace Rodri with Premier League star in unthinkable move

Manchester City are reportedly exploring a move for a Premier League midfielder as they prepare for Rodri’s exit.

Despite previously being linked with Real Madrid, Rodri was the subject of a £38.5million bid from Barcelona on Friday (August 7), with the offer rejected by Man City, who are demanding a fee of more than £60million for the World Cup winner.

Rodri, who has 12 months left on his current deal, has been integral to City’s success since he arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2019, helping the Northwest club to four Premier League titles and the 2022/23 Champions League, with the Spaniard scoring the winner against Inter in the final.

The 30-year-old is not expected to sign a contract extension at the Etihad, effectively meaning he could leave for free next summer.

Despite rejecting Barca’s first bid, it appears Enzo Maresca is planning for life after Rodri, with the Independent reporting the Italian is keen to reunite with Enzo Fernandez, having previously coached the Argentine at Chelsea.

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Maresca struck up a close relationship with Fernandez at Stamford Bridge, with the duo winning the Conference League and Club World Cup while working together in 2025.

The City boss rates Fernandez highly and is hoping to convince him to sign for City despite the midfielder previously being heavily linked with a potential move to Real Madrid.

Chelsea reportedly value Fernandez at £120million, with the 25-year-old netting 16 times and registering nine assists for the Blues last term.

City have already signed central midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116million this summer, with the club likely to break the record barrier again should they actively pursue a move for Fernandez.

The 10-time English champions are also in talks to sign Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, with the Ligue 1 club wanting £86million for the 18-year-old, which could prove to be a sticking point in negotiations.

Real Madrid coming back in for Fernandez should also not be ruled out, nor should the player remaining at Chelsea, with head coach Xabi Alonso making his stance clear earlier this summer.

When asked if he’d like to work with Fernandez, Alonso simply said: “Yes” before adding: “We have spoken. But, as you can understand, what we said will remain private.”

Fernandez, who is contracted to Chelsea until 2032, has been granted extended leave by the club following his World Cup commitments and is expected to link up with Alonso’s side next week.

Fernandez 'greatly influenced' by Maresca

The South American appeared to enjoy working under Maresca at Chelsea, even going as far as to say he didn’t understand the reasons behind the Italian’s sacking last season.

He also credited Maresca with helping him develop back in 2025.

"His influence on my position I am playing now on the offensive side has greatly influenced me," Fernandez said.

"The truth is that I have grown a lot with him. He has given me a lot of tools so that I can grow and understand the position. As we said, Moi (Moisés Caicedo) and me, he is also very clear when it comes to giving instructions for preparing for the games, the training sessions runs are very well, very demanding. We like that.

"We are very comfortable with Enzo Maresca. I think he has taught us as a group, each of our teammates, and we have grown a lot with this time we had with him, which is a short time. We are in a club like Chelsea, which is very big and very good, it demands that of us every day, and we are very happy to have him."