Manchester City faced a stern test against Lyon last night. The 2-2 draw meant the Citizens progressed to the knockout rounds of the Champions League but they had to recover twice from going behind.
Manager Pep Guardiola was seriously impressed with one of the players on the opposing team. Houssem Aouar performed well yesterday and the City boss was quick to single out the 20-year-old for praise:
“Houssem Aouar is a very good player, he is incredible. We talk a lot about Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He’s always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.”
Fans on Twitter also noticed the Frenchman’s performance and some would like to see the midfielder ply his trade at the Etihad:
Get the kid pic.twitter.com/jR7js14AzJ
— Mike (@GeniusKDB) 28 November 2018
@PepTeam I dunno who that is but sign him
— David Sam Chileshe (@DavidChileshe4) 28 November 2018
He’ll be the next David Silva
— Javier Ferrús (@_ferrus9) 28 November 2018
Buy him
— ??? (@just__a__panda) 28 November 2018
French xavi
— Mirza Amir (@MirzaAmirbeg97) 28 November 2018
Sell gundogan. Get aouar and then David silva would leave since his contract ends. That means we will end up with 4 midfielders. 2 left footers and 2 right footers. Foden and Bernardo. Kevin and aouar
— zoy_786 (@zoy2786) 28 November 2018
Other don’t believe he should be signed:
ffs he is not needed at all
— h (@h4mzi) 28 November 2018
Didn’t really think that Aouar was that good last night, but Ndombele was amazing as well as Mendy
— Ricardo (@Rickii_71) 28 November 2018
Aouar is reportedly a transfer target for Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, as well as Barcelona, with the youngster having been in excellent form for Lyon over the past 18 months.
Last campaign, the France Under 21 international scored seven goals and contributed six assists in 44 appearances. This season, he has already scored five and provided four assists in 19 games.
Aouar can play in central midfield or from the left flank. Whether Guardiola would need another player in either of those positions, it remains to be seen.