Manchester City made two huge transfer decisions at the beginning and end of the January window – with midfielder Nico Gonzalez arriving on deadline day.
The concern set in before the January transfer window even began, with Manchester City making clear they had no intention of signing Bruno Guimaraes to solve their midfield woes.
While Guimaraes wasn’t cheap or for sale, he wasn’t completely off limits and could have been signed for the right price. Newcastle’s stance in the summer was that they wouldn’t sell for anything under his £100m release clause, although reports claimed he could have been available for less.
It would have been a high-risk chase, especially in January. But with high reward. City opted against Guimaraes and looked like they would go through January without signing anyone in the key position of defensive midfield.
And then, on deadline day, in came Nico Gonzalez for half the price of Guimaraes’ release clause. Guardiola hailed the signing as important to bolster an essential role in the squad, talking up Gonzalez’s ability to play both at six and further forward, and hailing his arrival as another for the future.
At 23, he is four-and-a-half years younger than Guimaraes, albeit with less Premier League experience. Having lasted just 20 minutes into his debut at Leyton Orient – in which he was shoved off the ball for the hosts’ goal – Gonzalez is still waiting to show City what he can offer.
There were glimpses of his calmness on the ball at number six at Orient but the sample size is too small to make any judgements of his longer-term role in the City team. But that can change against Newcastle.
John Stones cannot play three times in a week, and despite his impressive performance in midfield against Real Madrid, it would be logical to rest him in the Premier League ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday. Gonzalez feels a reasonable alternative.
Manu Akanji’s injury and doubts over Nathan Ake’s fitness also increase the need for Stones as a defensive option rather than in midfield.
So Saturday turns into an early chance to see whether City were right to look away from Guimaraes and in the direction of Gonzalez. With three points crucial for both teams in their top four ambitions, there is no time to let the Spaniard ease himself in.
A midfield battle with Guimares, Joelinton and co. won’t give him an easy Premier League debut, either.