Man City midfield trio backed to emulate Rodri and Silva / Photo: PETER POWELL - AFP
Man City midfield trio backed to emulate Rodri and Silva
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana believes Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi can replicate the remarkable impact made by Rodri and Bernardo Silva at the Etihad Stadium.
Viana masterminded the signings of the midfield trio for a combined £327 million ($439 million) during the transfer window.
Fernandez, Anderson and Bouaddi have arrived in Manchester as part of a major rebuild following the departure of boss Pep Guardiola and several key players since the end of last season.
Spain World Cup winner Rodri joined Barcelona and Portugal playmaker Silva moved to Real Madrid, ripping the heart out of City's midfield.
Rodri and Silva won 10 Premier League titles between them, as well as the Champions League among numerous other trophies with City.
But Viana is confident the loss of those two City icons will eventually be off-set by the impact made by Fernandez, Anderson and Bouaddi.
"We cannot forget that we lost very important players in the midfield position like Rodri and Bernardo," he told City's media channels on Wednesday.
"It's important to bring the quality but also the character and the mentality that Enzo has. He's been here for three weeks and it seems that he was here for a year or two already.
"He's that kind of player with the mentality that we were looking for in that position because Rodri and Bernardo were really important in the last decade of the club.
"We all believe that Enzo, Bouaddi and Anderson can be as important as Rodri and Bernardo in the past."
Fernandez was prised from Chelsea for a joint-British record fee of £125 million, Anderson cost £116 million from Nottingham Forest and Bouaddi was valued at £86 million from Lille.
"He's just been with us for two months. He will develop even more," Viana said of Anderson.
"We knew that we had to spend a big transfer fee on him. That means we really believe he will be a Manchester City player for five, six, seven years. He will be a really important player for sure."
Morocco international Bouaddi caught the eye during the recent World Cup and City see the 18-year-old as their long-term option in Rodri's position.
"It's a very high ceiling for him. We all believe that he can be a really important player," Viana said.
"It's a position that we thought we could have to be very decisive during this transfer window and Bouaddi was always the target."
J.Lemaitre--PP
