Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has vowed to do everything he can to help his new teammate Rodri settle into life at the club.
The Brazilian has been a mainstay in the City team since Pep Guardiola 's appointment back in 2016. However, at 34-years-old, he is approaching the twilight of his career meaning the Citizens prioritised signing a long-term successor during the summer.
Rodri was the man identified as the ideal candidate to fill Fernandinho's boots when he eventually departs and City paid a club-record fee to lure him from Atletico Madrid.
Despite the added competition for places in the engine room after the Spaniard made a great start to life in England, Fernandinho has pledged to do everything in his power to help his new teammate adapt to life at the Etihad.
"There are some tough games to come, especially away at places like Burnley, Everton and Watford – different kinds of challenges but for sure he is going to learn," Fernandinho told mancity.com . "We are going to work closely, and I will be there for him to talk and advise him with whatever he needs, but of course he’s already a quality player who I like very much."
Rodri's performance against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend was arguably his best so far and Fernandinho admitted he was impressed by what he has seen from the tough tackling midfielder.
He added: "He has done really well in pre-season and in the first few games he’s played in the Premier League.
"He’s tall, technically very good and he’s going to help us a lot this season and for the future."
After sustaining a minor injury on international duty, the midfielder is ready to fight for his place in the squad again as City look to secure their third successive Premier League title.
Fernandinho revealed that it will be down to the players, not just Guardiola, to ensure that standards don't slip in their quest for more glory.
"I don’t remember the last time a team won the Premier League three times in a row,” said the former Shakhtar Donetsk man. "Normally, it’s human nature to relax once you’ve achieved your targets.
"This is going to be hard for us and we’re going to keep the guys’ heads up and keep moving forward.
"We must dig deep in the dressing room and not just rely on Pep to push us.
"We don’t just have a group of great players - we have a great group of human beings and this makes a huge difference.
"I think we all realise that in every training session and match we play, we have to improve, play great football and win our games because we want to win many more titles."
