Manchester City

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Mateo Kovacic may have impressed at the weekend against Fulham, but it is going to be more difficult than that to fill the Rodri hole in midfield.

Rodri would chip in with his goals, assists and so on, but he is more defensive-minded than any other midfielder Manchester City currently have.

He is very good at receiving the ball under pressure, using his size and technical ability to take the same ball and create a threat. He is also very good at sniffing out dangers and managing it from quite early on in the game.

So I don't think you replace him, especially considering he could be a Ballon d'Or winner in a couple of weeks. To say he is replaceable would almost be an insult to him.

It is going to be different now for Pep Guardiola. The players he has available to select have different traits and, as a consequence, you cannot just play the same way.

There is no like-for-like player in that City side, so this may be a good time for the team to look back at how they have managed this spell without Rodri in recent games and then think about how they need to approach it on a week-to-week basis going into the next block of matches.

There is still an element there where, especially against Fulham, they were really open. Guardiola will not want that because the opposition will take those chances on another day.

No player is irreplaceable. But when a player who could be a Ballon d'Or winner just disappears from your side, then like-for-like replacements are just not an option.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

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John Stones says he is not worried about off-the-field issues at Manchester City and is instead focused on putting right a "frustrating" start to the season due to a lack of game time.

City were involved in a public disagreement with the Premier League earlier this week, following on from a tribunal about financial rules. The case was a separate one to a further hearing over 115 charges they face for allegedly breaching financial regulations.

In addition, news broke that director of football Txiki Begiristain is set to leave the club.

Asked if the boardroom dealings were a concern Stones said: "The honest truth is no, it doesn't worry me. I am very much someone if I cannot control it I don't give it the headspace or attention. That might seem a bit wrong in some ways, but that is how I deal with it.

"At the end of the day, it is out of my hands and I put a lot of trust in the club and the people around me are good."

Stones will captain England against Greece in their Nations League fixture on Thursday.

He has made one Premier League start this season after a lengthy break following England's run to the Euro 2024 final.

"It's always frustrating when you want to play," he added. "I think that's football. Obviously, coming back later than the majority of the squad after the Euros, the team being in good form, there's a lot of factors.

"I've been in this position before, where you are in and out and don't really get a run of games but you know how important you are and you know not to get frustrated and to be there for the team.

"That's what I've done and had a positive effect from the bench and when I have started as well. I am always going to say I wish I could start every game but it is a long season and there are a lot of important games coming up."

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish says he "didn't really agree" with his omission from England's Euro 2024 squad.

Speaking before Thursday's Nations League game against Greece, Grealish gave his reasoning why he believes he should have been included in the summer and also heaped the praise on interim manager Lee Carsley.

Listen to the full interview on the Football Daily podcast

Manchester City are considering Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, 25, as a replacement for Ederson, but the Portugal stopper will cost £63m. (Caught Offside, external)

Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi has reiterated his desire to stay at Real Sociedad despite reported interest from Manchester City. (Mirror, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Former manager Mark Warburton talks to The Football News Show about how managers can deal with mental health struggles while working at a club and what support there is available to them.

Watch The Football News Show's Mental Health special

We are opening the floor to put your questions about Manchester City to BBC Radio Manchester's reporter Mike Minay.

Whether its tactics, form or off-pitch issues, we'll send a selection over and Mike will offer his thoughts on Friday this week.

Submit your questions here, external

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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The top three all managed to win on Saturday, each with their own wobbles en route. Arsenal were behind against Southampton, Liverpool scraped by Crystal Palace, but maybe Manchester City keeping all three points by the skin of their teeth against visiting Fulham was the closest shave.‌

A 3-2 win at the Etihad could easily have been 3-5 had Adama Traore brought his shooting boots rather than just his running spikes. City even had to rely on Mateo Kovacic scoring a couple and he isn’t exactly known to be prolific. His scoring rate at Chelsea was roughly one in every 40 games, so I wouldn’t be depending on him doing this regularly, even if I love him as a player.‌

I mentioned the other week about City being parked too close to the edge of their opponents' box against Arsenal’s deep defending. They really should have been coming on to the pass from deeper when they received the ball. Technical stuff but also very obvious I thought.‌

Post Fulham, Kovacic stated that Pep had talked to the players about this specific area, which is where Kovacic then scored both his goals. It is good to see Guardiola quickly spotting and remedying a problem, he is exceptional at that.‌

That said, finding a remedy for the missing Rodri is an ongoing challenge. Kovacic gave the ball away far too often in comparison to the man he has replaced and what I want to know is why Pep doesn’t try John Stones in the sitting midfield area. Even Josko Gvardiol might make a fist of the job without losing possession as often as his fellow Croatian.‌

I’ll watch and see if Pep takes my advice on this one in the coming weeks!

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter here

The latest episode of You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker sees the Manchester City full-back joined by former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown.

This week, they discuss away days, intimidating grounds, pre-match meals and tricky flights between matches.

There's chat about shower gel at Spurs, Pep Guardiola's superstition and hostile trips to Anfield.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Saudi club Al-Nassr are confident of signing Manchester City's Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, when his contract expires at the end of the season. (Team Talk), external

Meanwhile, Hugo Viana, director of football at Portuguese side Sporting, is Manchester City's favoured candidate to replace the outgoing Txiki Begiristain in the same role at the Premier League champions. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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I never thought the serious injury sustained by Rodri could spark the possibility of a huge positive - but here we are.

In typical international break fashion, I could have gone down several routes for this week's piece.

I'm not a financial expert, nor am I an expert in legal proceedings or the law, and so I won't be commenting on the verdict in City's legal case against the Premier League's associated party transactions rules.

I also expect to be exhausting the transfer rumour mill for talking points in the coming months.

This week, therefore, brings this train of thought: could Rodri's absence actually become the reason why Pep Guardiola decides to extend his stay at Etihad Stadium beyond a decade?

Unless Guardiola does the unimaginable - or perhaps the imaginable given his remarkable abilities at reinventing a tactical system - and claims every piece of silverware without his Spanish metronome, he will surely want the opportunity to test his side at full strength one final time in the 2025-26 season, and possibly beyond.

As he said himself: "I'm part of this club, not just a manager, I LOVE this club, and always it will be that way."

So would Guardiola really leave City - a club he loves - with the task of bringing Rodri back to his exceptional heights, preparing for life without the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, and integrating a new head coach into the organisation... all in the same summer?

Of course not.

Regardless of success this season, I firmly believe Guardiola will want one last shot at ultimate cross-competition glory with a full-strength squad, and a fresh roster of talent to introduce into the next phase of post-Pep Manchester City.

A new contract, and one that will likely strike fear into the rest of the Premier League and world football, is surely only a matter of time.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Manchester City's legal case against the Premier League over rules on commercial deals involving clubs' owners has come to an end with a tribunal delivering its verdict.

Two aspects of the club's complaints about the associated party transaction (APT) were upheld - but many of them were not.

This case is not directly related to the Premier League disciplinary commission which will hear 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching its financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.

What the Premier League says:

The Premier League's statement said that Manchester City "brought a wholesale challenge" to the APT rules and were "unsuccessful in the majority" of the challenge.

It added the tribunal deemed the APT rules to be necessary and that if prices above fair market value were paid then "competition will be distorted as the club would be benefiting from a subsidy".

The league also said the tribunal had "rejected Manchester City's argument that the object of the APT rules was to discriminate against clubs with ownership from the Gulf region".

Its statement also said that, except in the two respects where City won, the tribunal found that City's arguments were "unfounded, including on any alleged inconsistency in approach as between certain types of clubs".

What Manchester City say:

City's statement focused on the two areas where they won, as the club claimed the "Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position".

It said the club had "succeeded with its claim" and that "the APT rules were found to be unlawful".

City added that the tribunal found "both the original APT rules and the... amended... rules violate UK competition law... and the requirements of procedural fairness".

The Premier League champions said the rules were found to be "discriminatory... because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans".

And the club added "there was an unreasonable delay in the Premier League's fair market value assessment of two of the club's sponsorship transactions".

Dan Roan
BBC sports editor

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Both sides are claiming victory, and in truth the judgement contains something for both Manchester City and the Premier League.

League sources are emphasising the fact that most of City's challenges to the APT rules failed, and that the wider system was endorsed by the panel.

They also seem confident that the rules will be swiftly amended by the clubs within two weeks in order to make them lawful.

But the panel's ruling that the exclusion from the rules of interest-free loans from owners to their clubs (shareholder loans) was unlawful, has led to concerns that clubs could now be hit with additional costs that they were not anticipating.

This could mean some are in danger of breaching PSR regulations. The suggestion is that such loans will now be subject to commercial market rates of interest.

That could have major ramifications for those clubs that owe tens (or even hundreds) of millions of pounds to their owners.

The Premier League seems relatively relaxed about that issue, along with speculation that City and other clubs could seek compensation for any losses suffered by the rules.

On shareholder loans, league officials believe a fair market value analysis of such borrowings would be placed on the cost of the loan (i.e. the interest rate), not the value of the loan itself, and that the impact on clubs, therefore, would be minimal.

They also feel that such loans will only come into the scope of APT once the rules are amended, and will not be applied retrospectively, so only future loans will be affected.

However, BBC Sport has learned that City’s lawyers believe that not subjecting previous shareholder loans to a Fair Market Value assessment (while continuing to apply it to previous sponsorship deals) would be unfair, and that they may seek an injunction to prevent the Premier League from doing so.

But there will be fears from some in the game that any weakening of APT rules designed to preserve fairness and competitive balance could lead to certain clubs being able to sign more lucrative commercial deals.

There is also the question over whether this could have an impact on the 100-plus charges the league has brought against City for alleged financial rule breaches. City deny wrongdoing, and a hearing into the case continues.

Whatever the consequences, what is clear is that this dispute has reinforced the sense of division among the clubs over the financial regulations they are subject to.

Manchester City are considering a January move for 25-year-old Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi as cover for the injured Rodri. (Relevo - in Spanish), external

West Ham will price 24-year-old winger Mohammed Kudus out of a move away from the club next summer, despite interest from City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. (Football Insider), external

Germany playmaker Jamal Musiala is not thought to be in talks with Manchester City or Real Madrid, with Bayern Munich ready to make the 21-year-old their joint highest paid player alongside Harry Kane. (Sky Germany - in German), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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A VAR related question was put to chief football writer Phil McNulty on Monday's Q&A.

@nubiblue on 'X' asked: Is the new improved VAR working? To me it continues to favour certain clubs.

Phil answered: First of all, I don't believe VAR favours certain clubs and quite honestly, I've not noticed too much difference or huge improvement.

Maybe a little less interference but I confess I lost a lot of faith in VAR after initially being a strong advocate.

I would be happy with semi-automated offside and line technology.

The verdict has been announced in Manchester City's legal case against the Premier League over the league's rules on commercial deals involving clubs' owners.

City, who are owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, had some complaints upheld, with two aspects of the associated party transaction (APT) rules deemed unlawful by a tribunal.

But the Premier League says the tribunal rejected the majority of Manchester City's challenges and "endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system".

Simon Leaf, Partner and head of sport at Mishcon de Reya, told BBC Sport: “On the one hand whilst the decision today will be embarrassing for the Premier League, because in a couple of narrow areas their rules have been found to be unlawful, generally speaking the decision confirms that the vast majority of the APT rules are indeed lawful and therefore whilst we can expect to see some changes to the rules going forwards, on the whole this isn’t a resounding victory for Manchester City by any stretch of the imagination.”

Yasin Patel, a barrister practising sports law at Church Court Chambers, told the BBC: “In short, Manchester City haven’t got exactly what they want here, but nonetheless they have changed some of the areas and given a bloody nose to the Premier League. And vice-versa the Premier League haven’t had everything they want, but I think they’ll be more relieved here this evening because the last thing they would have wanted is the tribunal to come back with even more changes to be implemented.”

BBC Sport's chief football news reporter Simon Stone said: "The Premier League feels it is ok after this latest decision because of the number of allegations dismissed but it remains to be seen whether their calm reaction is justified.

"The fierce manner in which City have responded to the verdict, allied to the knowledge they are currently fighting the substantive issue of 115 financial charges, which they deny but if found to have breached will be seismic, suggests they have spotted a weakness in the Premier League’s regulations and will look to exploit it as far as they can."

Read more on the tribunal here

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Lea: We are missing Rodri so much. Can't afford to give two goals away. Better teams than Fulham will take points off us. I don't think we will get a trophy this season. How I hope I am wrong.

Tim: Agree with Pep - let's give credit to the opposition, they played some very good football and contributed to a great game to watch. However, let's also give credit to the champions for digging in and winning a very difficult game. Keep the run going, get more familiar without Rodri and improve.

Nick: Hard fought win and another team pushing City. However, I feel that playing Rico Lewis is becoming a luxury and not a necessity. I just don't get his hype. Too easily pushed off the ball or out of possession and I've never known anyone pushed over so easily. Please Rico prove me wrong.

William: City looking flat and slow again. Leaking cheap goals and missing that spark of seasons gone by. Confusing substitutions that didn’t seem to positively influence the match. Something is missing and it’s not just De Bruyne and Rodri.

Fulham fans

Bill: I thought Fulham were brilliant and frankly shocked City. Had Traore scored number two I think the result would have been very different. Much praise from Pep and many positives to take away from a great game of football.

David: Three points dropped potentially, all three of Traore's chances were clearer than any of City's. Score any two of those and it's a win. In reality Fulham could/should have been 3-0 up before City scored and I doubt even they would come back from that.

Will: A display that I am incredibly proud of. Perhaps another day we could have got a result, but this was a great performance in the hardest game of the season. Onwards!

Paul: Fulham were excellent went toe to toe with the best. Created so many good chances. Proud of them.

Sarah Mulkerrins
Final Score reporter at Etihad Stadium

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There was a big puff of the cheeks for Pep Guardiola as the win sunk in - he knew his side were in more of a fight than many expected.

Fulham weathered the early pressure and settled in defence. They did really well on the break, exposing Manchester City at times and gained huge confidence as the game went on.

In as much as a manager can be happy with a loss, you imagine Marco Silva will appreciate a lot of what his team showed. It could also have been so different if Adama Traore was able to finish any of the three chances when he was one on one with Ederson.

There were lots of supportive claps on his shoulder and back at full-time from team-mates and from Silva, who was also deep in a long conversation with Guardiola post-match.

As City adjust to the loss of Rodri, Mateo Kovacic put in a really good shift, along with scoring the crucial goals that pulled them level and then ahead.

However, you still feel they are a little unsettled and Kevin de Bruyne will be a welcome return after the international break if all goes well.

But they got the win which was so important for them after back-to-back draws - and they didn't even have to rely on Erling Haaland for the goals.