Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said that midfielder Rodri has the characteristics to become the next Sergio Busquets. The Spain international became the club’s record signing for £62m after making the move from Atletico Madrid and he was recently handed his debut against West Ham United in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Rodri had a relatively comfortable game where he had no concerns dealing with the threat from the likes of Michail Antonio and following the friendly, Guardiola happened to heap praise on the former Villarreal man, he said:”He is a young, typical defensive midfielder who thinks very quickly. I hope he is here for a long time. Rodrigo is tall, which for a short side like ours is very good. He is great at set-pieces but we didn’t buy him for that. [Rodri] is a Spain national team player and there they call him ‘the next Busquets’. I think he is a very good player.”
The Citizens had a comfortable encounter against West Ham United in Nanjing and goals from David Silva, Lukas Nmecha and a brace from Raheem Sterling contributed towards a 4-1 triumph over West Ham United. Next up, the club are scheduled to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final of the friendly competition and they should be fancied to win the trophy, barring a surprise.
Manchester City have placed the emphasis on pursuing young players during the summer transfer window and they have landed Angelino and Zack Steffen in addition to Rodri. Out of the duo, goalkeeper Steffen has been instantly loaned out to Fortuna Dusseldorf, where he has the opportunity to earn European experience after spending his entire career in Major League Soccer. City start their Premier League defence with a game against West Ham United on the road. Prior to that, they have a Community Shield encounter against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to contend with.
