Nicolas Gaitan

[Jimfv1]

That's Nasri off, then?

I could see the squad sustaining both, because our left side is pretty weak, especially since Scott Sinclair turned out to be... well, Scott Sinclair. We've been missing another left-sided attacker for a while (Balotelli could also play out there) and Jovetic is better in the centre. Wouldn't be good for Lopes' immediate chances though, as this seemed one of the few potential openings for him into the first team squad.

Assuming Pele's going to keep the 2 up front then we would have 5 players battling for 2 positions.(Nasri, Navas, Silva, Milner and Gaitan)

He hasn't really played two up front for months, usually Silva supporting Dzeko, due to the other three strikers having niggling injuries. There is room for another attacker to play on the left side and rotate with Nasri and Silva.

Could be we want to add pace though and maybe Nasri will be sold to bring in someone like Gaitan. If it was football manager I'd love to see Fabregas and Reus at the club to interchange with Silva. Plenty of options then and lightening fast.

 

[carlos tevez is a blue]

He hasn't really played two up front for months, usually Silva supporting Dzeko, due to the other three strikers having niggling injuries. There is room for another attacker to play on the left side and rotate with Nasri and Silva.

Could be we want to add pace though and maybe Nasri will be sold to bring in someone like Gaitan. If it was football manager I'd love to see Fabregas and Reus at the club to interchange with Silva. Plenty of options then and lightening fast.

If Aguero remains fit next season there's a very good chance we'll go back to playing 2 up front, is Gaitan really that fast? when I've seen him he reminds me of Modric but not as good. Fabregas would be a jizzworthy signing and would transform us into a truly world class side instead of a really good side that the pundits could argue PSG, Juve, Chelsea, Dortmund are better.

 

[BigOscar]

He hasn't really played two up front for months, usually Silva supporting Dzeko, due to the other three strikers having niggling injuries. There is room for another attacker to play on the left side and rotate with Nasri and Silva.

Could be we want to add pace though and maybe Nasri will be sold to bring in someone like Gaitan. If it was football manager I'd love to see Fabregas and Reus at the club to interchange with Silva. Plenty of options then and lightening fast.

If Aguero remains fit next season there's a very good chance we'll go back to playing 2 up front, is Gaitan really that fast? when I've seen him he reminds me of Modric but not as good. Fabregas would be a jizzworthy signing and would transform us into a truly world class side instead of a really good side that the pundits could argue PSG, Juve, Chelsea, Dortmund are better.

No, he's not a speed merchant at all. He's quick for a playmaker, but only average paced for a winger. He runs more like a young Tevez or Suarez, with bursts of pace and changes of direction as opposed to outright speed. He's probably only a little quicker than Nasri, but unlike Nasri, is actually willing to run directly at people and use his pace around the outside. Very low center of gravity though so twists and turns very nicely

 

[01cravend]

Similar to Silva in that he is very left footed, but uses it well to hold of challenges and keep the ball. Awesome first touch, good dribbler, and a willing crosser

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

update - sorry if already done

Portuguese newspaper O Jogo have a big feature on Friday explaining that Manchester City have opened negotiations to sign Nicolas Gaitan from Benfica.

Manuel Pellegrini apparently sees Gaitan as someone who can add a new dimension to his squad and, O Jogo say, Txiki Begiristain has already been in touch to see how much the transfer would cost his club.

Gaitan has been repeatedly linked to both Manchester United and Liverpool so, if that interest is correct, Manchester City would be pushing ahead of their rivals by starting the transfer process. The stories about Liverpool making a move in England this week have been based on old Portuguese speculation and were weak to say the least.

The Argentine international has had a good season and Benfica have shown just what a good team they are. They won the league with games to spare and were victorious in the cup final this week, they've also got through to the Europe League Cup final in Turin. It would be an impressive treble.

Gaitan has a contract until 2016, O Jogo say his buyout clause is €45m. If Benfica don't get a bid big enough to tempt them this summer then they'll enter contract talks with the 26 year old to extend his current deal