Man City bound? Martin Zubimendi lined up for January move as Pep eyes Rodri replacement

Real Sociedad’s highly-rated midfielder Martin Zubimendi is now being considered by Manchester City in the January transfer window to fill the void left by his absent injured international team-mate Rodri after summer links to both Liverpool and Arsenal collapsed. 

The English Premier League defending champions have been dealt a huge blow with Rodri picking up a serious knee injury against Arsenal in September, ruling him out for the rest of the season. 

Rodri has become arguably the world’s leading defensive midfielder, and his absence is already felt in the City team after edging Fulham 3-2 over the weekend in a five-goal thriller. 

According to reports in Spain, the former Champions League winners are set to go all out to sign a replacement in the winter window, with Zubimendi high on Pep Guardiola’s wish-list. 

Relevo reports that Citizens are thought to be monitoring the deep-lying play-maker who is still yet to sign a new contract, and as such retains a release clause of around £50.3million (€60m). 

Zubimendi has developed into a stellar player, operating in the No 6 role at the base of midfield controlling the tempo of the game while also protecting the defence behind him. 

While Mateo Kovacic has stepped up for Rodri, Guardiola is still unsure of his midfield combination after also experimenting with Ilkay Gundogan, Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis. 

Zubimendi was reluctant to move to Liverpool in particular in the summer even though the Reds were willing to trigger his release clause. The opportunity to work with the Spanish coach could be tempting for Zubimendi to join City.