Pep Guardiola finally has the midfielder he needs in his squad | OneFootball

Ever since Rodri went down with an ACL injury in September there has been a hole in Manchester City’s midfield. Although several of City’s most experienced players have tried to fill the void left by Rodri’s absence it is obvious that City’s midfield isn’t the same without their midfield general. The world champions addressed this issue with the deadline day signing of Nico Gonzàlez from FC Porto. Now Pep Guardiola has the midfielder he desperately needed at his disposal and the City manager is excited to have Gonzàlez at the club.

Pep Guardiola was asked about the signing of Nico Gonzàlez during his pre-game press conference ahead of his team’s FA Cup tie against Leyton Orient. The City manager said he was excited to have the young Spanish midfielder at the club. Guardiola explained: “Really important! It’s a position that we were weak after the absence from Rodri. A young player, 23-years-old, can play number six and number eight, more in the pockets. Physicality, he’s a strong young boy, I know him from the Barcelona academy and his father was working here. I’m really pleased from the effort of the club to bring him here for the next years!”

Manchester City’s midfield does look better on paper with the addition of Nico Gonzàlez.

The issues with Manchester City’s midfield have been clear to see. Ever since Rodri went down injured City’s engine room has lacked energy and legs to keep up with their opponents. Unless Manchester City control games their midfield has been too easily bypassed. We have seen this throughout a host of matches this season. But the signing of Nico Gonzàlez should address this issue and Pep Guardiola finally has at his disposal the midfielder his squad so desperately lacked.

With the signing of Nico Gonzàlez all of a sudden Manchester City’s midfield has a completely different feel to it. Although he is yet to play a game for the club, on paper a midfield of Gonzàlez, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva for example looks a lot better then what Pep Guardiola could deploy previously. On top of his technical and tactical ability Gonzàlez does add size to City’s midfield. That is a key attribute that City’s midfield has lacked. This coupled with his tremendous ability that he has displayed at Barcelona, Valencia and FC Porto make him a superb signing for Manchester City.

Manchester City added the midfielder Pep Guardiola desperately needed in his squad on deadline day. Now we wait to see Nico Gonzàlez in action for Manchester City. That could come against Leyton Orient. It will be interesting to see if his does debut at the Gaughan Group Stadium. The expectation is that he will so he can start his Manchester City career.