Guardiola: We have followed Nico for a long time | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have been watching Nico for a long time after signing the Spanish midfielder in the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old is in contention to make his City debut in our FA Cup fourth round tie at Leyton Orient on Saturday at 12:15 (UK).

Guardiola says the midfielder has been bought to stay at the Etihad Stadium for a long time rather than as a quick-fix with so many injuries hitting the team, including to midfielder Rodri.

And he believes that he will have benefitted from growing up in Barcelona’s La Masia academy and playing for Porto where the pressure to succeed in Portugal is so high.

“Early ages [at Barca, they] talk about the fundamentals,” the City boss said. “As quick as possible, 8/9/10 years old you’re talking about body shape and passing to the right foot for your mate.

“They help you start early and Nico was there. In his generation he was one the best players, maybe he was not there because Busquets was there, Pedri was there and you don’t have that space.

“Sometimes when a young player arrives, nobody is there so it’s easy to do it.

“The quality is there. He made a step up at Porto and [former boss Sergio] Conceicao helped him to mature. It will bring something to his game and especially because you have to win the league and every game at Porto.

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“Every season they play in Europe. We follow him for a long, long time. When he was at the academy, we tried to bring him here but it was not possible.

“All the players are so young so can be here for the next six or seven years. That’s nice for the club.”

Rodri is likely to be out for the rest of the season following the knee ligament injury earlier in the season.

But while Nico can step into his role as a holding midfielder, Guardiola says they will be able to play together when the Ballon d’Or winner returns.

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“Both have good pace to go forward and Nico has played as a 10 - they can arrive to the box,” Pep added.

“His physicality, he’s tall and his pace, he’s a player that comes from the academy, his patterns and his body shape, control and reading of the game are already there.

“He has to adapt to the Premier League. I don’t know how long it takes. Sometimes it takes more, sometimes less. He’s a player for the next many, many years.

“Rodri hopefully next season will be back but to play 60/70 games like he did last seasons, it’s a risk.

“With Kova, another player that can play in that position. He’s ready. We’ll see in the next days. Tomorrow. The first impact is good, yesterday and today. I will not put pressure to solve all the problems we have, just to help us to be more stable and play better.”

Nico’s father Fran was also a talented player and was part of the successful Deportivo La Coruna side which won La Liga in 1999/2000.

He was also a former team-mate of Guardiola, who was a big fan of his quality but says that has no bearing on his arrival.

“I had a good relationship [with him] but if the player is not good he would not be here,” Guardiola said.

“His father had one of the best left foots I’ve ever seen in my life. He played in Coruna all the time. Barcelona was always pushing to bring him there.

“I was lucky enough to play in the national side with him for one or two years. He was an exceptional left-footed player. They played in the semi-finals of the Champions League and he won many titles.

“His son maybe has genetics. He is stronger and taller, maybe for a lot of chicken he ate in early stages!

“If he doesn’t want to come he would not come. At the end, we agree and we are happy he is here.”