Four Premier League clubs who should be looking at Rodrygo

Although Real Madrid are yet to confirm Xabi Alonso as their new manager, the club appear to be planning for his arrival.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is also yet to be confirmed as a Real Madrid player, though he will be heading there in the summer, and looks ideal for Alonso’s 3-5-2 system.

Los Blancos need players in other positions, however, and their glut of attacking options – and potential lack of suitability for Alonso’s system – will likely see some players move on.

The biggest name apparently up for sale is Rodrygo.

The Brazilian is only 24 with just shy of 150 90s played in the league for Santos and Real Madrid, meaning he’s likely approaching his peak but still has anywhere between two and five years ahead of him before we start to see any sort of physical decline.

As such, Real Madrid are reportedly asking for €100m for the Brazilian, but considering the fact he’s unlikely to be a regular starter under Alonso – indeed, he’s recently lost his place to 20-year-old Arda Guler – that could be negotiated down.

While Rodrygo is an elite dribbler, he’s not necessarily a natural goalscorer or creator, and his non-penalty xG+xA per 90 has dropped from 0.75 two seasons ago to 0.56 last season to 0.32 this.

Rodrygo hasn’t been helped by the fact that he’s often had to play something of an auxiliary role, supporting the more glamorous Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, flitting between positions, but any new employer would hope to give the Real Madrid man a new lease of life.

According to Capology, Rodrygo earns around £200,000 a week at the Santiago Bernabeu, meaning his salary shouldn’t pose any issues for the clubs who’d be in the market for a player of Rodrygo’s calibre, and the reports that Real are happy to shift the forward on should have a number of clubs on alert.

Below, we look at four Premier League clubs who should be looking at the Brazilian in the summer.

Liverpool

It’s not yet clear exactly how much Liverpool will have to spend in the summer, and there are a number of areas they need to address if they’re to have any hope of retaining their Premier League title.

Milos Kerkez is expected to come in at left-back, they may want a new right-back to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, they’ll likely want a new central midfielder, and they could need a new centre forward and left-winger depending on who leaves.

Mohamed Salah will start on the right next season while Cody Gakpo can play either up top or on the left, leaving Diogo Jota as a versatile back-up should Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez leave.

Again, it will depend on how much money Liverpool have to spend, but if the opportunity presents itself to sign Rodrygo for a reasonable fee, it’s something the Reds ought to consider.

Arsenal

Perhaps the most obvious move would be Rodrygo to Arsenal. The Gunners signing Viktor Gyokeres for around £55m should give Arsenal some more to play with in the transfer market, should the move go ahead.

Defensively, they’re not short of options and they may now offer Thomas Partey a new contract. Add Martin Zubimendi to the midfield ranks and Mikel Arteta would have only one real area left to address.

Gabriel Martinelli showed a lot of promise when breaking into the Arsenal first team but hasn’t been able to build on his 2022/23 campaign when he scored 15 Premier League goals.

Leandro Trossard is a capable and versatile deputy, but Arsenal could do with more X-factor on the left to complement Bukayo Saka on the right.

While Rodrygo would strengthen the first XI, he could also allow Martinelli and Trossard to play useful squad roles.

Manchester City

If they’re not already in it, Manchester City will soon be in the throes of a very hefty rebuild.

Kyle Walker has already gone, Ederson is being linked with a move away, Kevin De Bruyne is set to leave, while Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Bernardo Silva are all in their 30s.

The club could target a number of areas on the pitch for both the long and short term, but Rodrygo could fill a gap quickly.

Savio has had a decent debut season at the Etihad as he still gets to grips with English football and is capable of playing on the left and the right. Jeremy Doku’s frightening turn of pace should make him a nightmare to defend against, but his lack of end product in the final third means he can’t be relied on as a regular starter.

Jack Grealish was signed to give City another dimension in 2021, and while he never quite lived up to the billing, Rodrygo could be brought in to do a similar job.

Chelsea

Between Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho, nobody has been able to nail down a wide position in Chelsea’s starting XI this season, and based on what we’ve seen this term, Rodrygo would walk into the side.

It’s not 100% certain that Enzo Maresca will even take charge of the side next season (though there haven’t been any strong rumours to the contrary); If he is, he could use Rodrygo on the left wing and hope Cole Palmer can recapture his best form drifting in from the right.

Much may depend on which European competition Chelsea are in next season, and you can likely draw a line through the Real Madrid man moving to Stamford Bridge if they don’t reach the UEFA Champions League.

But if they do find themselves amongst Europe’s elite, Rodrygo would be a good starting point.