Manchester City bosses make January 2026 transfer decision amid Rodri fitness woes | OneFootball

The acquisition of a defensive midfielder will not be prioritised by Manchester City bosses in the January 2026 transfer window, as per a new report.

City are facing question marks over the fitness of Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri, who has failed to get his rhythm back since he recovered from an ACL rupture and make his long-awaited return to action in a 3-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth in May.

The 29-year-old has since suffered several fitness setbacks as Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff again look to re-integrate the Spain international back to action, with Rodri back in training ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash with Swansea City.

Nico Gonzalez has proved to be a reliable stand-in for Rodri this season but there is an acceptance that Manchester City cannot solely rely on the 23-year-old January signing from Porto if they are to challenge for major trophies this season.

City have plenty of other options in defensive midfield, including Mateo Kovacic, who has also only recently returned to full fitness and will need some time to get back to speed and adjust to the pace of the Premier League.

Guardiola and co saw their nine-game unbeaten streak end on Sunday as Matty Cash’s winner secured a vital 1-0 win for Aston Villa over Manchester City at Villa Park, with City dropping down to fifth place in the Premier League table as a result.

Much has been made of Manchester City’s transfer business in Hugo Viana’s first summer as the club’s director of football, with the Portuguese executive signing off on a series of notable departures from the first-team squad and recruiting seven new players for Guardiola.

Despite their recent purple patch, City are yet to return to their title-winning best from the years of 2021-24 as Guardiola looks to guide a new-look dressing room to a genuine challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles this season.

Football Insider is reporting that despite Rodri’s ongoing injury troubles, Manchester City will not be in the market for a defensive midfield signing in the January 2026 transfer window, with a belief that the current squad has significant depth to operate without a new addition in the area midway through the season.

Kovacic is expected to lend a much greater hand in the position as the season progresses, with Guardiola expected to manage Gonzalez’s minutes carefully in avoid a potential injury to the Barcelona academy graduate, who has received plaudits from his manager for his performances and willingness to learn since his £50 million arrival from Porto in January.

Guardiola test summer signing Tijjani Reijnders in the deeper midfield position against Aston Villa – one of his rather unsuccessful experiments as it turned out – but there remains a belief at the Etihad Stadium that City have enough in their squad to finish this season without a new addition to their number six options.

Rodri will no doubt be wanting to return to playing week-in, week-out as soon as possible but the Spaniard has been criticised by his manager for working to his detriment and bringing fitness setbacks his way for wanting to do too much, too soon at a very pivotal period in his recovery from a major injury sustained last season.