The towering midfielder comes alive in the small spaces and City believe he can fill the hole in their midfield and salvage their faltering season
While many clubs have opted for a low profile in the January transfer window, Manchester City have been acting as if it's the last-ever opportunity to buy players. Having previously talked down the importance of the winter window, Pep Guardiola has been making up for lost time in a bid to save his side's terrible campaign, and initially splashed out £130 million ($156m) on Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush.
And yet despite blowing every other club in Europe out of the water in terms of spending, Sunday's humbling 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal made it plainly obvious that City's squad still had a gaping hole in midfield. Searching for a new No.6 has been troubling for City as they know that Rodri, whose long absence after knee surgery has been the main factor in their shambolic season, will be back for the start of next season – if not before – and will immediately retake his place in Guardiola's line-up.
But the harrowing beating City took at the Emirates Stadium underlined that they will need some back-up for Rodri even when he returns, and that the current crop of players are not up to covering when he isn't there. And that is why City made an audacious and eye-catching late swoop to sign Nico Gonzalez from Porto for £50m ($62m), announcing the deal bang on Monday's 11pm deadline.
Gonzalez comes from a prestigious football family and has already played for three huge clubs in their own right, but he is about to face the toughest challenge of his career: deputising for the reigning Ballon d'Or winner at the crunch stage of the season for a City side that are still in crisis.
GOAL explains, then, why City believe the Spaniard can save their flagging campaign…
Getty Where it all began
Nico is the son of legendary Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Fran, who spent 17 years at the club and was part of the much-loved side known as 'SuperDepor' which conquered La Liga in 1999-2000 and pulled off some memorable Champions League results in the early 21st century. Fran most notably played a pivotal role in Depor's epic quarter-final comeback against AC Milan in 2004, scoring the decisive goal as the Spanish side came from 4-1 down to knock out the defending European champions 5-4 on aggregate.
Despite being born into such a prestigious football family, Nico initially showed little enthusiasm for the sport. "Nico didn't want to play football at first," Fran recalled. "When he was six years old, he had no interest. I was still playing and maybe he was tired of going from place to place. But then one day arrived and, I don't know why, but he just started to play."
Nico was blessed to have a small football pitch at his home to hone his skills and a former Spain international to show him the ropes. By the age of 10, he was playing for the Under-13s at his local club, Montaneros, in Galacia, and turned on the style for a tournament that also featured Barcelona and Real Madrid, scoring a brace against the Catalans.
Both Spanish giants showed a major interest in signing him, and despite Madrid offering more money, Nico and his mother preferred the idea of moving to Barcelona. He joined the Catalan club's famed La Masia academy in 2013 and made steady progress, becoming a regular in the reserve side by the 2020-21 season.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportThe big break
The summer of 2021 was a painful one for Barcelona as they had to part ways with Lionel Messi due to their crippling financial crisis. But their inability to make major signings presented a huge opportunity for their talented youngsters, such as Nico, Abde Ezzalzouli, Alejandro Balde, Ferran Jutgla and Gavi.
Nico made his debut off the bench in the opening game of the 2021-22 season against Real Sociedad and soon became a regular starter. He really made his mark on the team during a dream week in December when he scored for the first time in a 2-2 draw at Osasuna, controlling a pass from Gavi to fire in the opening goal. Seven days later, he rescued Barca from embarrassment in front of their own fans, as the Catalans had surrendered a 2-0 lead against struggling Elche, only for Nico to pop up late in the game to again meet a pass from Gavi, bring it under control and smash in the winner.
Gonzalez's huge 6'2" (188cm) frame drew comparisons with Sergio Busquets in his early days, and then-Barca youth coach Francisco Xavier Garcia Pimienta told GOAL in 2021: "If we seek excellence at Barcelona, Nico will be the replacement for Busquets for many years."
GettyHow it's going
Nico's fine start at Barca began to slow down, however, as Gavi and Pedri locked down their places under Xavi Hernandez, and he was therefore limited to substitute appearances. He went on loan to Valencia for the 2022-23 season, but did not have the best time at Mestalla, as he struggled for regular football under Gennaro Gattuso and then broke his foot in December, knocking him out of action for three months. He came back stronger, though, and his solid finish to the season was enough for Porto to sign him for €8.5m (£7m/$9m).
He was not an instant hit in Portugal, however, and coach Sergio Conceicao admitted Nico had made "a difficult transition". Yet slowly but surely he got to grips with the coach's demands and became a regular starter from January 2024 onwards.
"Sergio Conceicao demands a lot from all of us and this is very important for me. I'm very young, at 20 and 21 years old I already had a lot of experience in the first division, but his demands made me progress. I've grown a lot, today I'm a better player than a year ago", he said at the end of the season.
Conceicao's departure from Porto over the summer brought instability and they have had a torrid season thus far, sacking manager Vitor Bruno in January. Nico, though, has been the one positives of the wretched campaign, as he started 17 of Porto's 19 league games before joining City, scoring five goals and two assists. He has also made the difference in the Europa League, providing assists against Anderlecht and Hoffenheim while playing a through ball which led to Samu Omorodion scoring against Manchester United. He then scored the only goal in their decisive final League Phase game against Maccabi Tel Aviv which sent Porto into the play-offs.
Nico's latest displays convinced City to make a last-ditch move to sign a midfielder before the January transfer window shut, and he described the move as "the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career", while City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain called him "a very talented young midfielder" and "an ideal acquisition for Manchester City".
Getty Biggest strengths
Having grown up at La Masia, Gonzalez naturally has outstanding ball control and short-passing ability, which make him a natural fit into Guardiola's midfield. He explained: "The Barca school teaches you from a young age that the most effective way is the simple way, playing one or two touches and quickly."
Former Porto coach Vitor Bruno, meanwhile, said Gonzalez has "an unparalleled ability to break lines with the ball and read the game from the front". He can operate as a No.6, anchoring the midfield, or as a probing, attacking No.8. He has excelled in the latter role this season, scoring seven goals in all competitions.