"Yeah, I think so. I can be." That's Elliot Anderson's answer when asked whether he's comparable to Rodri. Not deflection, not false modesty — a flat-out yes from City's £116 million signing.
That's either the most confident thing said by a new Premier League arrival this summer, or the most dangerous. Possibly both.
A £116m gamble on a 22-year-old
Anderson is now the most expensive signing in Manchester City's history. That number follows him everywhere, and he knows it. "It will always be attached to me," he admitted. "As long as I focus on myself and my performances, that's all I can do."
What's striking is how specific he is about the role. He's not just saying he can play midfield — he's describing Rodri's actual job. "There is a lot of running, a lot of energy. It's to try and control games. That is what I can do." Guardiola's replacement manager has clearly had that conversation with him already, and Anderson came out of it believing he fits.
Whether City's title odds hold up while Rodri is potentially on his way to Barcelona is a different question. Anderson is talented — his World Cup performances with England proved he handles pressure — but Rodri is operating at a level most central midfielders never reach in their careers. The gap between "comparable" and "equivalent" is where entire seasons are won and lost.
He's been a City fan for a decade — and turned down United to prove it
Anderson also addressed the Manchester United noise head-on. There was never a real decision to make, he says — he's watched City since Agüero's title-winning goal, when he was eight or nine years old. "I'm confident I've made the right one," he said of choosing the Etihad.
His World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina in Atlanta still stings. "I'm still sort of struggling with that now," he admitted — which is the kind of honesty you rarely get from a player fresh off a £116m move trying to make a good impression. He's carrying that disappointment into a new club, a new system, and the weight of being asked to do what Rodri does.
He says he can handle it. City's season may well depend on whether he's right.
