Manchester City has finally signed a defensive midfielder. The Citizens have snapped up Rodrigo Hernandez from Atletico Madrid for a fee of around €70 million, which triggered his buyout clause. The 23 year old has joined on a 5 year deal.
There were second thoughts on him joining after Atletico tried to give him a new contract. But the prospect of working with Guardiola convinced him to jump ship and he was truly ecstatic about this opportunity.
“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.”
Player History
Born in Madrid, Rodri joined Atletico Madrid’s academy in 2007, aged 11 from CF Rayo Majadahonda. He was released in 2013 due to a ‘lack of physical strength’ and he subsequently signed for Villarreal. He soon made his debut for Villarreal’s reserve team in the second division as an 18 year old in 2015. Within 10 months, he managed to make his first team debut against Huesca in the Copa Del Rey and at the age of 19, made his league debut.
As the stats suggest, his minutes on the pitch have considerably increased since 2016/17 when he became a regular first team player. In 2016/17, he made 23 appearances in the league, 31 in all competitions, managing to score a goal and 2 assists.
In 2017/18 in Atletico colours, he was one of the first players on the team sheet, making 37 appearances in the league, providing a goal and 3 assists from central midfield, also lifting the Europa League in the process. In 2018/19, he made the same amount of appearances, 47 in total for the Los Rojiblancos, starting the Super Cup final against Real Madrid.
Fantasy Football Potential
He has been touted by many as the next Busquets owing to his height and style. His job is to bring the ball out, be well positioned, organise play, start moves, play passes, read the game and break down the opposition’s moves when needed. In other words, a classic Pep Guardiola no.4. So, he is expected to be the main man for Guardiola, ahead of Fernandinho, sit deep and play from the back, just like Busquets. Although, don’t expect any goals or assists from the Spaniard due to his position.
He will be a main stay for that City side as long as Pep is there, however from a fantasy football perspective he shouldn’t be one on your team sheet due to the limited goal scoring or assist potential. Rodri has been priced at £5.5m and classified as a midfielder and starts the campaign with a trip to the Hammers in gameweek 1.
Written by Tamish Behal (@Tamish_Behal)
