Manchester City have officially announced the signing of Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez.
The Premier League champions have paid €60m (£50m) for the Spaniard, although the money will be given over in instalments rather than upfront.
Gonzalez did not play for Porto against Rio Ave last night and he could feature against Real Madrid next week. Fans on X are delighted that the club have addressed their problems in midfield:
Exactly the type needed but is he good enough?
— Paul H. (@PauliH1966) February 3, 2025
Hopefully this fixes some of our issues fr
— Kashimawo (@_Kashimawo_) February 3, 2025
Finally. A midfielder.
— Nour Hajj || 4PEAT🏆💙 (@lifewithNour) February 3, 2025
I don’t know how to feel about this signing
— jxshua (@dipzzgotbanned) February 3, 2025
I finally recognized my club
— Little José (@jos5_little) February 3, 2025
It took us until deadline day but we signed a midfielder pic.twitter.com/hYKEdsw8X9
— Troy🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@troyboy621) February 3, 2025
Massive move for City! €60M is a big investment, but Nico González could be a great fit for their midfield. Exciting times ahead with this signing
— Zeeshan Ashfaq (@Zeeshan_Ashfaq7) February 3, 2025
Guardiola is a fan of the midfielder
Some may point to City’s 5-1 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend and claim that Gonzalez was a panic buy; a kneejerk reaction to a heavy loss.
However, manager Pep Guardiola was interested in bringing the player to the Etihad when he was at Barcelona. He was mentioned as a potential makeweight in negotiations for Ferran Torres three years ago.
Will Gonzalez solve City’s issue?
It is a lot of pressure to put on a 23-year-old who has not even been given a senior cap for Spain yet, but fans will be hoping that he can bring the energy that has been sorely lacking in the middle of the park.
Gonzalez is not an exact replica of Rodri. He can provide some protection but he does like to get forward, demonstrated by the fact that he has scored 7 goals and provided 6 goals this season. He will have to learn on the job in the Premier League and fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that he can adapt quickly.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here