How should Manchester City handle the Rodri conundrum?

Grasping how Rodri, Anderson, and a talent like Bouaddi could combine requires an insight into Maresca’s tactical framework.

A devoted student of positional play, he likens football to a game of chess.

“There are a lot of parallels,” Maresca remarked. “The core is positional play and strategy.

“For a coach, it’s vital to think like a chess player: craft a plan, anticipate counter-moves, decide the arrangement of the pieces.”

Maresca’s approach is largely built around an attacking structure that resembles a 3-2-2-3.

In a team shaped by Maresca’s ideas, one of Rodri’s most valuable traits would be his capacity to glide seamlessly between these designated zones on the pitch.

During the World Cup, for example, he frequently dropped into the defensive line whenever his former Manchester City teammate Aymeric Laporte pushed up with the ball.

Naturally, Rodri spent most of the match in a holding midfield role, yet when gaps opened up he was more than capable of surging forward too.