Nico González

[jrb]

Serious question.
Been in work all day.
Are there any genuine updates on this today?
Thanks.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

He looks to me like a potential replacement for KDB.

This stat is meaningless in terms of low intensity in possession because City are adept at managing possession but I am surprised that City still press hard out of possession. My impression is that we are less effective in doing so this season

I think it’s both. I think Pep’s decision to run less in the false 9 season is now starting to bite us on the arse. It worked wonders for a couple of seasons.

Other teams have got better tactically and also physically. We get beaten by the teams that outrun us. PSG, Bournemouth etc.

 

[Gaz (FMwkdsoul)]

Serious question.
Been in work all day.
Are there any genuine updates on this today?
Thanks.

No.

 

[Marvin.]

We have been miles better since Kovacic came back after his injury suffered in the international break. During Kovacic injury, Gundo played there and we lost most games.
Kovacic is unfortunately the best option we have until we one day sign someone

I am happy with Kovacic but what if we lose him again? That would be a disaster. Kovacic is not the issue in our midfield. The attacking play of Gundogan and KDB is the issue and their ability to defend out of possession.

 

[Dribble]

Or that as he has a release clause we felt it was easiest to sort out when needing to pull the trigger. Word doesn't always get out, but if we were talking to multiple players, respective clubs & agents, there more than likely would be a leak - too many moving parts and interested parties to not hear anything

A buy out clause circumnavigates that. The two parts needed are knowing the player is willing to come, & triggering the release clause by paying up. There's not really a lot to leak.

 

[Dribble]

We’re probably bringing another 2 or 3 midfielders in the summer. Rather than getting out first choice CM (who would probably be £70m+ and very hard to do in January) this window, it looks like we’re getting the Rodri backup instead. No need to flap

Who's flapping? I'm stating a possible scenario. Personally, if we can't get the player we need this window, I'd rather we mend & make do until the summer, than buy another Philips or Nunes.

 

[Matt.D]

TBF you don’t need pace to play DMF. You need positional awareness, strength and concentration unlike Kovacic who is 100 MPH and will be letter suited as an 8

In the right team you don’t. But as much as a fit Rodri would improve us now even he would be struggling off the ball in this set up. Previously around rodri we’ve had a KDB, Bernardo and Gundogan in the 8 positions who start the press and run relentlessly. The problem is their legs have now gone and they can’t keep up with play leaving the DM exposed / non existent.

In this current team with the age etc of the rest of the midfield peak Fernandinho would be more needed than Rodri.

E.G - Fernandinho did the running of Yaya from his first city game and it was only overly noticeable later on when Yaya stopped contributing going forward.

 

[SWP's back]

Word doesn't always get out. I heard nothing about the 4 we've acquired so far until the deals were near enough completed.

It seems odd that the main position we needed filling urgently, could be one of the last (if at all) to be resolved. Just strikes me that we had several options which for whatever reason haven't worked out.

Word always gets out when an attempt fails.

 

[Matt Diablo]

Who's flapping? I'm stating a possible scenario. Personally, if we can't get the player we need this window, I'd rather we mend & make do until the summer, than buy another Philips or Nunes.

This lad looks miles better technically than Phillips and a shed load harder than nunes so get him in asap surely.

Also finally stops gundog playing there or an out of position/ gaping hole the size of trafalgar square in midfield with Kova as a 6!

 

[spinney]

Maya Jama’s double golden globe winner Ruben Dias

No wonder he has groin problems

 

[Dribble]

Word always gets out when an attempt fails.

"Always"? How would anyone outside the parties involved know otherwise?

If City want a release clause player, & the player wants City, what's there to leak until everything is agreed with just the i's to be dotted, t's to be crossed, a medical to be passed & the BoC to be paid?

 

[Ajm1985]

A buy out clause circumnavigates that. The two parts needed are knowing the player is willing to come, & triggering the release clause by paying up. There's not really a lot to leak.

For this move, yes you are right, but this has also been leaked before it has been completed. I presume we are haggling because we know, if needed, we can just pay the clause. The timing is after the group stages of European comps for both clubs, with Porto doing badly in the league (as @Gaz (FMwkdsoul) pointed out), which may have been factored in.

However, you believe that this is our third choice etc which is what I was talking about. If we had been talking to other players, agents and clubs throughout the window we would likely have heard something. You may be completely right though, it's just my opinion

 

[MCFC1993]

I am happy with Kovacic but what if we lose him again? That would be a disaster. Kovacic is not the issue in our midfield. The attacking play of Gundogan and KDB is the issue and their ability to defend out of possession.

Disagree, Kovacic is 100% the issue for me, Gundogan too, neither are good enough to occupy the 6 or 8 spots regularly.

Brugge's goal epitomised it for me. Ball given away, miles out of position, slow to get back, just didn't sense the danger. We are just making do with him in there but he isn't good enough.

 

[Matt Diablo]

No wonder he has groin problems

Yes jammy fuker with his "adductor"" injury. He had the hardship of having to bolt off to ibiza over Christmas too

 

[PragueBlue]

I agree with that and why I said we creep to far up the pitch.

Maybe that should be changed to Kova being too high and not being able to recover.

It’s not just him though. Sometimes you see a huge hole appear and it’s 3 defenders and Kova dealing with 4 attackers running at pace.

It’s probably a bit of all the factors though and the lack of Rodri’s reading of the game defensively, but also offensively. The lack of line breaking passes really slows us down.

I think it's mainly due to our lack of pace at the back and inability to press effectively.

It has lead to our defence, on the whole, playing a little deeper to compensate for the lack of pace and some of our midfielders having to push forward to help with the pressing as our front 3 can't maintain a consistent press. This has created big gaps in our midfield that no one DM can plug and teams can pass through our lines with relative ease. Lack of legs in midfield stops them getting back quickly enough from the press.

That's why I don't believe any one DM can fix the issue on his own. Might help a bit but until we either change the way we play (just pressing with the front 3/4 and keeping the 2/3 in the middle a bit deeper) or get back to a higher line (and accepting the risk of the ball over the top), the problem will remain. More pace at the back would be needed for this though and a front 3 that can press effectively.

That and defensive mistakes are costing us. Sort those issues out and we'll be well and truly back.

 

[Dribble]

This lad looks miles better technically than Phillips and a shed load harder than nunes so get him in asap surely.

Also finally stops gundog playing there or an out of position/ gaping hole the size of trafalgar bridge in midfield with Kova as a 6!

Agreed & I've no issues with our pursuit of Nico. I was merely responding to others querying why the filling of this crucial position had been left so late in the window, hence my thought that maybe he wasn't our first choice, which would explain the late pursuit.

Tbh, for all I know he could've been our first choice, but it's just taken this long to get to this stage. However, he could be an option from further down the list, as others didn't work out. No one knows for certain?

Regardless, if it's Nico now or we wait until the summer for a CDM, I'm OK either way. The damage to our season was set in motion after we'd won the treble & Rodri complained about burnout & warned about his fears for his health.

We didn't take it seriously enough, hence we are where we are. Hopefully, BIG lessons learned by Manchester City!

 

[PragueBlue]

Disagree, Kovacic is 100% the issue for me, Gundogan too, neither are good enough to occupy the 6 or 8 spots regularly.

For me the issue is that we continue to play with KDB and Gundogan. Neither have the legs to play the game that we are trying to play and putting Gonzalez in instead of Kovacic isn't going to change that.

 

[Zenmanc]

I'm 51 so i realize I'm not a youth anymore (thank fuck) but i am so fucking sick of going in and looking up legit info on a player such as this to immediately find at the ready videos posted by lonely twatting cunts seeking clicks with the player in a City kit with the caption "Welcome to Manchester City".

If you know anyone who does this- first meditate on it and then implement the Zenmanc approved intervention and slap them in the back of their head.

 

[Matt.D]

For me the issue is that we continue to play with KDB and Gundogan. Neither have the legs to play the game that we are trying to play and putting Gonzalez in instead of Kovacic isn't going to change that.

100%. And you can’t replace those 2 now so imo Gonzalez will change very little if he has no pace.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Seems odd that we're happy to pay 33m for a defender who has played about 20 games in the French league, 29m for a Young Brazilian defender who has played a handful of games in that league, but we won't pay a release clause of 50m for a more experienced player with good stats in the Portuguese league. How much are we trying to get him for?

From what I've read, there's some convoluted way that by allowing Porto to buy out Barcelona's share, and paying less than the release clause, Porto actually get more money, because they cut out Barca from the deal. Which seems like a win-win for us and Porto if that's true.