Pep Guardiola already has his Man City side in the groove this season, and that’s an ominous sign for all of the Premier League pretenders to their throne.
Along with Liverpool, they are the only unbeaten side in the English top-flight after just three matches, and with their next four games in all competitions at home, they’ve a chance of building up a real head of steam and confidence for the task ahead.
The match against Arsenal before the end of the month already looks like it could be one to define the earliest stages of the title chase, and their ability to be consistent throughout 2024/25 will once again largely rest on the shoulders of brilliant midfielder, Rodri.
Man City could be set to lose Guardiola’s irreplaceable talisman
After his Euro 2024 exertions with the Spanish national team, the 28-year-old was given a little extra time off to recover, and, per transfermarkt, he’s yet to play a minute for the team this season.
That’s likely to change as soon as the current international break is over, when his importance to his team and his manager will once again be in evidence.
He is one of a rare breed of player that could be classed as irreplaceable, so City are unlikely to be too enamoured by a potential move next summer for the player by Real Madrid.
According to Fichajes, Los Blancos president, Florentino Perez, has made the €130m-rated ace his primary target for next summer.
It isn’t yet clear if Guardiola will be looking to leave City in 2025 after a number of years in the hot-seat, and his own decision may well be one that affects what the Spanish midfielder and City talisman decides to do.
Clearly, any deal for Real Madrid is going to be a difficult one to do, however, there’s a general feeling in football that what Florentino Perez wants, Florentino Perez gets.
Perhaps that’s something to do with the club’s multiple Champions League wins and ability to land the best players in the world year in and year out.
