Pep Guardiola set to disappoint Man City fans with 'ideal' Rodri replacement snub

Mateo Kovacic was called off the bench when Rodri went down in the area against Arsenal, before a makeshift midfield helped Manchester City beat Watford.

From the moment Rodri limped off last weekend, the reality hit home that Pep Guardiola will have to accelerate his 'plan B' for coping without his midfielder. Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva will be central to those plans, with John Stones and Rico Lewis also able to cover the 'Rodri role'.

But there has also been a growing clamour among fans for another name to be given a holding midfield brief in Rodri's lengthy absence: Kevin De Bruyne.

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In theory, it's a perfect solution. De Bruyne using his 'quarterback'-style distribution to feed the likes of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Savinho. Arriving late in the box, moving back like other elite attacking midfielders have done to prolong their careers.

De Bruyne in a deeper role, or maybe a double pivot with Kovacic, feels like a match made in heaven - particularly if he was given licence to stretch his legs and move through the lines from number six.

But fans hoping to see De Bruyne in that kind of system may have to be prepared for disappointment. When there was the debate last season over where to play Phil Foden once the Belgian was back from injury, Guardiola was crystal clear on the prospect of moving De Bruyne back to accommodate both players.

"No. He has to be in the final third. He is not there to defend deeper," he said in February. "I want Kevin in the final third because his huge talent is