From Germany: Manchester City fighting Chelsea for Bundesliga superstar amid Rodri worries | OneFootball

Manchester City are in the race to sign FC Köln and Germany teenage midfield star Said El Mala, as per reports from Germany.

City overhauled their midfield department in the recent transfer window after Hugo Viana replaced long-serving executive Txiki Begiristain as sporting director and conducted a thorough audit of Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad in his first summer at the Etihad Stadium.

Viana signed off on the notable exits of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and James McAtee and recruited the pair of Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki from AC Milan and Lyon respectively as Manchester City look to forge a title winning side for the seasons to come.

The Blues endured their most challenging season under Guardiola last term as they finished trophyless and recorded their lowest points tally in the Premier League under the Catalan in nearly a decade, crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lost the 2025 FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

City are facing some issues as they embark upon a new era under Guardiola, who has missed Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri for the best part of 12 months after the 29-year-old midfielder ruptured his ACL in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September 2024.

After briefly returning to action in the summer at the FIFA Club World Cup, Rodri suffered a fitness setback and has since been hit and miss in terms of fitness, with Guardiola deploying January signing Nico Gonzalez in the middle of the park as he allows Rodri to ease his way back to full fitness.

Mateo Kovacic has also recently returned to full fitness after undergoing Achilles surgery in the summer and is expected to shoulder responsibility in defensive midfield alongside Gonzalez as Guardiola and his coaching staff navigate the coming months amid Rodri’s injury woes.

City are not expected to be very active in the January 2026 transfer window but should an opening in the market present itself that is deemed too good to turn down, executives at the Etihad Stadium could look to make an addition or two to their squad for the second half of the 2025-26 season.

As reported by Bild’s Tobias Altschäffl on his podcast ‘Bayern Insider’ and relayed by Sport Witness, Manchester City are amongst a host of clubs who have expressed their interest in FC Köln and Germany teenage midfield star Said El Mala.

FC Köln are understood to have already rejected a €20 million bid from Brighton and Hove Albion for El Mala in the summer, with clubs in the Premier League and across Europe all monitoring the 17-year-old’s progress in Germany.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are believed to have made informal, behind-the-scenes enquiries to the representatives and parents of the teenager, who has also attracted interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester City are currently not expected to be in the January market in search of a defensive midfielder but should Rodri’s fitness issues persist into 2026, Viana and co could be forced to rethink their stance and assess the market for reinforcements in the position.