Premier League News: Pep Guardiola heaps praise on Rodri

What's the Story?

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the club's new acquisition, Rodri. The holding midfielder joined the Sky Blues this summer for €70million, after the English side triggered his release clause.

In case you didn't know...

Rodri has been looked upon as Manchester City's long-term replacement for veteran, Fernandinho. He seems to boast of all the attributes required of a top-notch defensive midfielder and thus, is looked upon as an impactful signing for the Sky Blues.

City are currently in Japan for their pre-season tour, where they played their last game against Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday.

The Cityzens won the game 3-1 thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Lukas Nmecha.

The heart of the matter

Speaking after the game, Guardiola was impressed by the hard yards his team put in. Here are some of the excerpts from his interview:

"Kevin made another great game," Guardiola told reporters. "It's important to have his quality for the vision to make the last pass when the opponent defends in a high line."

However, there was special praise reserved for City's summer arrival, Rodri. The manager quipped, "But Rodri was incredible today. We knew it, but today I can assure you we have an incredible holding midfielder for the next decade, or at least the years he will be here with a contract."

The Spanish tactician was impressed with how the returning members of his squad performed too. He said, "Bernardo [Silva] is back too at his normal level, Sterling continued, and John Stones and Aymeric [Laporte] are back. These guys played incredibly well in the game today."

What's next?

Manchester City will now prepare for their Community Shield match against Liverpool on the 4th of August at Wembley. Guardiola will be hoping to start City's season by winning another trophy to add to his domestic quadruple last season.