Manchester City are in turmoil.
Pep Guardiola's side looks a shell of their former selves having now not won a football match since October. 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, Erling Haaland can't even get them out of this mess, with the Norweigan netting just two goals in his last eight Premier League matches.
The injury to star midfielder and Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has raised eyebrows, but is it plausible to blame City's horrendous form as of late on just one man? Here, FourFourTwo delves deeper into the problem and what exactly can be done to save the Sky Blues' season...
Where has it gone wrong for Manchester City this season?
The first talking point is of course the elephant in the room, Rodri. City's midfield was so heavily dependent on the Spain international, given he can do the role of two midfielders mixed into one.
Rodri is progressive. His ball-carrying and ability to help recycle play is key to the way Pep Guardiola wants his side to dictate games and has been the case for well over a decade. Total footballing control.
The former Atletico Madrid man had just one season in the Spanish capital before City chose to spend £56 million on his services in 2019 and it is now clear to see why. He simply doesn't miss a pass.
Small or large, he keeps the team ticking and even when under pressure from multiple opponents, Rodri can still open up that gap that helps Manchester City on their way in attack.
But it is not just defensively that they miss the former Villarreal man, his goal output is also extraordinary given his defensive positioning on the pitch. Last season, Rodri scored nine goals and registered a staggering 14 assists, showing his impact in forward areas.
That comes back to our original point that when some teams often need two players in a midfield pivot, Guardiola is lucky enough to just need one. Against the better teams or when City need to be more conservative, Rodri can sit back and give the ball to his teammates who are better in forward areas.
It goes without saying the plethora of talent they have but as we are seeing now, Rodri's impact at the Etihad Stadium is damning. He played 50 times in all competitions and when you take that amount of experience, know-how and ball-playing ability away, it becomes a heavyweight problem.
So who do Manchester City need and how do they solve their problem?
As relayed by BBC Sport recently, only a handful of midfielders can do exactly what Rodri does for Manchester City. Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi is the tailor-made pick for us and there is a reason why both Liverpool and Arsenal want him so badly.
Remember that agonising Euro 2024 final when we all laughed as Rodri was withdrawn at the interval? Yep, us too. Up stepped Zubimendi to comfortably stifle England and help win the tournament for Spain. Boy, oh boy, did he impress.
Zubimendi's skillset is extremely similar to the Manchester City man and although some of his attributes don't jump off the page, it is his passing that is crucial here. His medium-long passes are vital to the way Sociedad plays.
Unfortunately, as we know, prizing Zubimendi away from Sociedad is difficult. He enjoys his life in Spain and has already rejected two moves to England in the past.
“There will always be rumours and now that January is approaching, there will be too, but I don’t waste energy on outside noise. I’m happy with the way I’m handling it and I’m going to handle it,” he told Estadio Deportivo.
A move to the Premier League continues to look unlikely, but if there is one man and one team that can make this happen, it has to be Guardiola and Manchester City.
In FourFourTwo's view, Zubimendi fits the ball and has already shown in his audition to English fans during the Euro 2024 final that he can deal with pressure on the big stage.
Rodri's omission continues to pierce City's hopes of silverware this season and if they do not find a suitable replacement nor a solution, it could get better before it gets a whole lot worse at the Etihad Stadium.
