Maresca leaves Rodri's future up in the air as Manchester City rethinks its midfield

Rodri set foot on the Manchester training pitch again on Friday, nearly a month after lifting the World Cup with Spain. There was a hug with Enzo Maresca, smiles all around and plenty of goodwill. But when asked about the midfielder's future, the Italian coach offered no guarantees whatsoever.

"The transfer window is open, we can buy players, we can sell players. Anything can happen," Maresca said when asked whether he expected the Ballon d'Or winner to stay at the club amid reported interest from Barcelona. It wasn't a door slammed shut, but it wasn't a firm "he's staying" either. And in a market this open, half-answers like that tend to say quite a bit.

What is clear is that Rodri won't feature Sunday in the Community Shield against Arsenal, the match that opens the English season between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup holder. The Spaniard remains on a rehab program following minor back surgery after the World Cup, so his return to the pitch will have to wait a bit longer.

The other hot topic at the press conference was Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutchman arrived from AC Milan just a year ago and never quite settled in as an undisputed starter at City. Now, with British media reporting it heavily, all signs point to his next destination being Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia. Maresca didn't fully confirm it, but he didn't hide it either: "Tijjani's transfer is not officially closed, we'll see in the next few hours."

A midfield under reconstruction

Bernardo Silva's departure for Real Madrid had already left a significant gap in City's midfield, and a potential Rodri exit would leave it even thinner. That's exactly why the name Enzo Fernandez, Maresca's former player at Chelsea, has come up as a possible reinforcement. The coach preferred not to get into specifics: "He's a player from another club. I don't think it's right to talk about players from other teams."

On Reijnders, Maresca was more candid, even drawing a parallel with the case of James Trafford, the goalkeeper who left for Leeds this summer in search of more playing time. For the coach, it's a dynamic that repeats itself season after season with players who can't lock down a regular spot.

Everybody trains every day, everybody does the sessions, and at the end of the week they want to play. When they don't play, it's hard for them to accept it. I can understand that. After a season, some want to play a bit more. It's a normal situation.Enzo Maresca

With the market still open and several pieces moving at once, City heads into the start of the season with more questions than answers in midfield. As for Rodri, for now, it remains up in the air.