Yesterday, Manchester City signed Spanish midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante from Atletico Madrid for a whopping £62m (€70m).
The City-Rodri relationship came as a surprise to some fans considering the fact that there wasn’t much talk leading up to the move. Some could also argue that he was a very underrated player in the past La Liga season.
Some might also argue that this was a senseless purchase due to the abundance of midfielders and attackers that Pep Guardiola has. But first, I believe a look back to what kind of player Rodri is and how he contributed on the pitch.
That, plus the fact, Man City has a David Silva singing his swansong and Fernandinho a moulding age of 34-years-old, it is the right time to bring in a player of Rodri’s quality.
Looking back to his last season at Atletico;
–34 Games Played
–20 Wins
–1928 Passes
-91% Pass accuracy
-242 Duels won
-41 Interceptions
-70 Tackles won
To put it in perspective, here are the results in comparison to someone like Gini Wijnaldum who dominated the center of the park last season for Liverpool:
-35 Games Played
-28 Wins
-1769 Passes
-91% Pass accuracy
-548 Duels won
-21 Interceptions
-68% Tackle win percentage
It’s pretty shocking considering that Rodri is 23 while Wijnaldum is 28. These statistics could tell us that Manchester City have just signed a promising young holding midfielder who could partner Fernandinho, then eventually take his position from him. This leads me to the next topic;
Does Rodri fit into Pep’s system?
The answer is absolutely! Rodri posses the holding midfielder mind-set and stats to show Pep how important he is to the starting Xl.
With speedy players to accompany him along the wing and up front, Rodri should have no problem moving the ball with pace up the field and ultimately creating chances. It’s not all about attack, in which he also carries the necessary defensive abilities that Pep needs.
Fernandinho has been an example last season, he contributed equally in attack as well as defense; Rodri complements this by staying defensive minded as well as attacking minded.
Good decision-making is what it’s going to come down to, knowing when to make that pass or when to commit to the challenge will ultimately dictate whether Rodri has the potential that City see in him.
https://twitter.com/goal/status/1146439442749698049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1146439442749698049&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2Ffootball%2Fnews-rodris-statistics-from-last-season-are-genuinely-mind-blowing-20190704
Rodri was quoted saying:
"“It’s not just the titles they have won, but the way they have managed it, playing attacking football at all times.It’s a style that excites me, as do the Club’s ambitions.I can’t wait to start working with Pep Guardiola and my new team-mates and hopefully we can achieve great things together.”"
Good Luck to Rodri and I look forward to seeing him play in the 2019/20 Premier League season!