I’m viewing football in a different way, says Nico | OneFootball

Nico says Pep Guardiola is already helping him to see football differently after just a few months at Manchester City.

The Spaniard arrived at the Etihad Stadium on deadline day in February from Porto, having progressed through the ranks at Guardiola’s boyhood club Barcelona.

He quickly made an impact, helping to solidify a midfield that had been missing the injured Rodri.

While he’s impressed in his 11 appearances to date, the 23-year-old believes there’s much better to come because he’s learning from one of the game’s greatest coaches.

Everton v City | Match preview

Ahead of this weekend's trip to Everton, Nico assessed his relationship with Guardiola: “It’s really nice, I think I’ve learned a lot in the last few months.

“I think that I am improving a lot and viewing football in a different way, one that I haven’t viewed it from before. He tries to remind me of certain things before every training, it’s so important.

WATCH: City's best Premier League goals at Goodison Park

“If he wants you to improve on something, at the beginning of every training session he’ll be speaking to you about it to remind you, so that you focus so much on learning that, to improve in that specific way.

“I think that’s why you see so many players improve so much in such a short space of time, by concentrating on something in particular.

“I think what I’ve improved so much over the last few months is playing with more calmness, that way you make better decisions.”

Nico’s arrival has come in a challenging season, with Pep Guardiola’s four-in-a-row Premier League champions set to lose our crown.

Instead, the focus is now on ensuring qualification for next season’s Champions League and an FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.

After that comes a special opportunity in the inaugural edition of the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, held across the United States in June and July.

For all that and more, Nico was one of four signings to refresh the squad in the winter window – with Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis also joining.

The quartet have impressed Guardiola and his coaching staff so far, especially Nico.

Buy your Nico shirt here

He feels a lot of that is down to how settled he is at the club and in Manchester two and a half months on from the move.

“For sure, I feel part of the group already,” he said.

“Everyone is very welcoming, there are young players, older players, but everyone is really close.

“We have a lot of fun in the dressing room – we play some games before training and I’m really enjoying being here.

“To be honest it’s really nice – not only in the club which is obviously all perfect, but the city and everything, it’s been really good.

WATCH: Memorable Moments: Everton v City

“Of course, it was an easy decision. I didn’t have to think twice about it, when they call you and it’s a team like Man City - it’s easy to say “when can I go?” When they told me to travel, I didn’t even need to think about it.”

The No.14 arrived at City as a versatile midfielder, capable of occupying attacking space or being the player sitting in front of the backline.

He’s largely been used for the latter so far, but Pep has not ruled out asking him to play further forward in future.

Ilkay Gundogan has played a variety of roles in midfield throughout his City career, sitting deep at points early on before being our top scorer in the 2020/21 season.

Having played together several times in recent weeks, Nico says the former Germany international is someone who inspires him.

“I try to pay attention to him,” he began.

“I love all the movements that he makes, the positions that he takes up and I’ve had to mark him in a few training sessions and it’s always caught my attention how he can get out of situations.

“He’s always in the right spot and always chooses the right pass. So I try to keep my eyes on him.”

Everton v City app coverage

Our official Man City app allows you to follow all of the action from the match in one place.

Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, whilst our Matchday Live show will begin at 13:45 (UK).

Keith Curle and Paul Lake, alongside host Chris Latchem, will be in the studio on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight at half-time and in greater detail after the final whistle.

During the game you can listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Michael Brown while our text commentary continues.

Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.

Short highlights will be available from 19:00 (UK), whilst extended highlights and a CITY+ full-match replay will be available from midnight.