Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola identified Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets as a ‘secret candidate’ to replace Rodri, according to Sport.
Rodri has been on the sidelines since suffering a serious knee injury in September. He is set to spend most of this season away from the pitch and the Citizens have already been linked to several midfielders.
Guardiola allegedly wanted to fill in the void left by the Manchester City star’s absence with the 36-year-old.
The manager knows the Spaniard very well having previously managed him at Barcelona and made a personal call to ask him to move to City. The defensive midfielder made his mark at the Camp Nou under Guardiola’s orders and had a chance to reunite with him at the Etihad.
Busquets joined the MLS side in June 2023 and signed a contract until the end of this year.
Sport state the former Barcelona star initially said ‘yes’ to joining Manchester City, likely in the winter market. He then changed his mind to continue playing with Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami.
Manchester City have been active in the ongoing window but haven’t yet managed to sign a midfielder. That may change in the last week of the January market.
