Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that the signing of Nico Gonzalez is an "essential" one to address Pep Guardiola's "clear" weaknesses in his midfield.
The Citizens confirmed the signing of Gonzalez from Porto for a reported £50m on transfer deadline day, with the 23-year-old penning a four-and-a-half-year deal to keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2029.
The fact that it took Man City until the final day of the transfer window to recruit any kind of reinforcement in the midfield area, where their struggles have been well-documented ever since Ballon d'Or winner Rodri suffered a season-ending knee injury back in September, is perhaps one of the biggest surprises of Man City's window.
Nevertheless, City sealed the deal just in time and Gonzalez is "honoured" to have been hand-picked by Guardiola to play for the reigning Premier League champions, while he believes that "this is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career".
Gonzalez is expected to quickly slot into a midfield that has seen the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan struggle to cope without star lynchpin Rodri by their side, particularly on the transition and dealing with defensive duties.
Described by City director of football Txiki Begiristain as an "ideal acquisition" for the club, Gonzalez has the physical attributes, in particular, to help resolve the Citizens' midfield problems in the eyes of McInerney, although the Spaniard has "ridiculous" shoes to fill.
Why Man City are "dying" for Gonzalez "influence" in midfield
"It's a huge and necessary signing," McInerney told Sports Mole. "It was very obvious that City's deficiencies were highlighted against Arsenal (City's 5-1 Premier League defeat last weekend), as they have been for the past few months in particular.
"Nico Gonzalez feels like an essential signing if I'm being honest, but the size of the shoes that he's got to fill are ridiculous. The literal best player in the world in Rodri, the Ballon d'Or winner. You can't step into that, it's not possible.
"It'll take him a long time to get up to the levels Guardiola requires, but we've been absolutely desperate for legs in that midfield, young players who can run, they don't have to be able to sprint as fast as an Olympic sprinter, they just have to be able to move and do it often.
"Unfortunately Kevin De Bruyne (33) and Ilkay Gundogan (34) are older now. Bernardo Silva still has the legs but even him and Kovacic are both 30, neither of them are defensive midfielders, they're not naturally defensive people.
"So you've got a bunch of players who are older, probably can't press across a whole game, who aren't naturally defensive at a time when the Premier League is more physical, more structured, more organised than ever.
"Our weaknesses are clear and I think Guardiola isn't exaggerating when he says we're probably the worst team on transition in the league, and I think it's genuinely true. I think City are dying for this kind of influence.
"Nico Gonzalez is 6ft 2in, technically excellent as you'd expect from any Barcelona, La Masia product, learned the physicality as well over in Porto where he played a bit more advanced than the [number six position] that he grew up as a Barcelona player. Played as more of an eight, more of a box-to-box. He looks like an old school 4-4-2 central midfielder where he could do a bit of both.
"[A box-to-box midfielder is] what he looks like to me and that means, essentially, he's got the legs, he's got the size, he's got an eye for goal and can get forward, but also he can run back and tackle.
"It'll take a while for him to adapt, but I think he's going to be, in the long run, a perfect partner for someone like Rodri, which I think is what City are aiming for, not just a guy who can take over from Rodri, but a guy who can sit alongside him too."
Gonzalez "stylistically" compared to Declan Rice
McInerney would not be too surprised to see Gonzalez experience a few shaky spells at the beginning of his Man City career, but he believes that the powerful midfielder "will make a difference" to Guardiola's side, and he has compared him "stylistically" to Arsenal's Declan Rice.
"It sounds dramatic but I really don't think he can do much worse (than City's current midfielders)," said McInerney. "The standards in our midfield are in the mud, and that sounds melodramatic unless you're paying attention to Man City.
"It really is that bad, we're not exaggerating. I've seen stats about how we're the worst in the league at defending our box, we're by far the worst physically in the league in midfield.
"He'll have some games where he makes a mistake and it's going to happen... but the fact that he can actually run and the fact that he will track back aggressively (is a positive).
Gonzalez "will make a difference" to Man City midfield
"Having a guy who can just run back towards his own goal while also winning aerial duels - I didn't realise how much Rodri did that until I saw the stats (70.3% aerial duels won across six seasons at Man City).
"Rodri is a monster in the air because he's a big guy. Gonzalez is big too, he reminds me a little bit of Declan Rice actually stylistically, not a pure six but just that physical monster who can cover so much ground.
"I actually think he will make a difference to this City side. I think asking him to play alongside Kovacic as opposed to Kovacic alongside Bernardo Silva and Gundogan - it's not even comparable."
McInerney added: "I think he's ready for this move. I think he understands it. I think City have profiled him really well, the exact kind of player, complementary and necessary at the same time. I think he will be an improvement. I just don't see how he won't be really. It feels, as far as £50m signings go, one of the lesser risk ones. We'll see."
Gonzalez became Man City's fourth senior signing of the winter transfer window after Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush, taking the Citizens' total spending to around £180m, while Kyle Walker was the high-profile name to depart on loan to AC Milan.
McInerney has shared his thoughts on Man City's transfer business overall and has discussed whether Guardiola's side should have strengthened further in other positions.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion. body check tags ::
