Manchester City Quashes Rodri Exit Rumors Amid Arsenal's Pursuit of Guimaraes

The transfer market rarely sleeps, but on Manchester City’s pre-season tour, Enzo Maresca was in no mood to fuel one of the summer’s biggest rumours.

Maresca draws a line under Rodri speculation

Rodri, fresh from captaining Spain to World Cup glory and recovering from surgery, has been heavily linked with Real Madrid. The noise has grown loud enough to demand a response, and City’s new boss provided it.

“It’s just about speculation at the moment,” Maresca said, outlining a simple timeline: surgery last Monday, a clean procedure, a few days off, then back to City once his holiday ends. No clandestine meetings. No transfer stand-off. No dramatic twist.

For Rodri, Maresca insisted, the season ended with a singular target – the World Cup. Now it’s rest. City, he stressed, have “not had any conversations” about a move, with the focus purely on the midfielder’s recovery and return.

For a club staring at another gruelling campaign on multiple fronts, shutting down uncertainty around their midfield metronome feels as important as any new signing.

Rashford at a crossroads

While City fight to keep a cornerstone, Marcus Rashford stands on very different ground.

His loan spell at Barcelona has ended without a permanent move, his future still hanging in the balance. And now, the Saudi Pro League lurks as a very real possibility.

Rene Meulensteen, speaking to Andy’s Bet Club, framed the dilemma bluntly. Saudi Arabia “could be an option” for Rashford, depending on his priorities. The former Manchester United coach believes the forward’s Old Trafford exit came after he “had fallen out of love with the manager or the club,” but suggests the relationship with current boss Michael Carrick is a different one.

Rashford remains a player who can “make a difference”, Meulensteen argued, pointing to his display against France. The decision to withdraw him at half-time baffled him, as did Thomas Tuchel’s reluctance to unleash Rashford and Bukayo Saka earlier against Argentina, where their pace could have changed the dynamic.

The questions now pile up. Barcelona turned to Anthony Gordon instead of pushing for Rashford. That choice hangs in the air. Does another Champions League club step in? Does he chase a new challenge in Saudi Arabia or MLS? For a player still in his prime, the next move will define the rest of his career.

City line up Bouaddi in big-money move

While the Rodri saga stalls, Manchester City are already plotting the next evolution of their midfield.

talkSPORT report that City have agreed a deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi after his standout World Cup performances. The fee is expected to land at around £86 million, a figure that underlines just how highly the teenager is rated at the Etihad.

The timing, though, is less clear. There is a strong suggestion Bouaddi could remain at Lille for the 2026/27 season, giving him another year of Ligue 1 football before crossing the Channel. That scenario would likely drive the fee down, with City effectively paying for a player they would not see in sky blue for another 12 months.

For now, the champions look set to secure one of the most coveted young midfielders in Europe, even if patience is required before he actually walks through the door.

Arsenal close in on Bruno Guimaraes

In North London, Arsenal are pushing hard to turn domestic dominance into something more lasting.

Having finally climbed back to the Premier League summit, Mikel Arteta wants more than a one-off title. He wants a defence of the crown, something Arsenal have never managed in the Premier League era. To do that, he knows his midfield needs extra steel and subtlety.

Bruno Guimaraes has been the chosen man all summer. The Gunners have courted the Newcastle United midfielder for months, and, according to ESPN, confidence is now growing that a deal can be done.

The likely departure of Eddie Howe from St James’ Park could tilt the balance Arsenal’s way. Newcastle have already lost Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali this summer, and another key exit would mark a brutal reshaping of their core. Yet Arsenal sense an opening and are moving with intent.

For Guimaraes, it would mean swapping a project in transition for a team that has just proven it can go the distance at the top of the table. For Arteta, it could be the signing that turns a title win into a title era.

United let Fredricson go – but keep him in the family

At Manchester United, the headlines are smaller but still significant for those inside the club.

Tyler Fredricson has completed a permanent move to Lausanne-Sport. The Swiss side might seem an unusual landing spot for a defender raised in south Manchester, but the INEOS ownership link offers an obvious strategic thread. If United ever want him back, the pathway will be smoother than most.

Fredricson joined United at under-nine level and climbed through every rung of the academy ladder. He played in every round of the 2022 FA Youth Cup run before illness cruelly ruled him out of the final against Nottingham Forest. Under Ruben Amorim, he finally broke into the first team, debuting against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April 2025 and later featuring against Brentford, Grimsby Town and Newcastle United.

United’s statement called him a “model professional” and a popular figure in the academy. For now, his journey continues in Switzerland, but the door at Old Trafford does not feel completely closed.

Liverpool turn to Barcola after Diomande blow

On Merseyside, Liverpool’s search for a successor to Mohamed Salah is entering an expensive and delicate phase.

BBC Sport report that the club are preparing their first formal bid for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola. PSG have put a hefty price on his head, valuing the Frenchman at around £145 million. With two years left on his contract and his status slipping from automatic starter to rotational option, the situation is ripe for a move – but only at the right price.

Liverpool had been heavily linked with Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig, yet the Ivorian is now Real Madrid-bound. That setback has forced the recruitment team at Anfield to pivot quickly, and Barcola has emerged as the new priority.

A huge fee, a high ceiling, and the shadow of Salah’s legacy looming over any new arrival: it is a bold play. But this is the market Liverpool now operate in, and the question is simple – do they push all their chips in on Barcola, or risk watching another target slip away?