From Italy: Manchester City exit touted for Nico Gonzalez as Real Madrid test Rodri waters
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester City will listen to offers for Nico Gonzalez despite the midfielder only joining the club in January 2025, as per reports from Italy.
Gonzalez joined the Blues from Porto as one of four emergency signings in the previous January window, wherein his £50 million move took City’s overall spending in the window to £180 million.
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The Spaniard signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at the Etihad Stadium and has since made 52 appearances for the Blues and despite playing regularly amid Rodri’s injury issues earlier this season, Gonzalez has struggled for minutes under Pep Guardiola since.
As a result, the 24-year-old hasn’t played in the Premier League since the start of February – having been an unused substitute in the four games that preceded City’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League knockout return leg defeat to Real Madrid earlier this week.
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Moretto: Man City to listen to offers for Nico this summer
With Rodri slowly returning to his pre-injury self following an injury-ravaged 18 months, it is unlikely that Gonzalez will find regular minutes until the Ballon d’Or winner leaves Manchester City – leading to concerns over his future.
In a report for Marca, Italian journalist Matteo Moretto is anticipating several departures from the Etihad Stadium this summer and is convinced that the Blues will entertain offers for Gonzalez. “I think he’s going to leave,” Moretto said on the midfielder.
It would be an abrupt end to his time in Manchester for someone whose services were sought as a long-term investment from City – whose midfield is flirting with a worrying lack of depth that won’t be helped by Bernardo Silva’s all-but-confirmed exit at the end of the season upon the upcoming expiration of his current deal at the Etihad Stadium.
Moretto also added that Gonzalez’s future will depend heavily on Rodri’s immediate future and decision on his Manchester City contract, with Real Madrid showing a strong interest in the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, who is also into the final 15 months of his contract with the Blues.
Man City’s midfield plans this summer
The 2024 UEFA European Championship winner has been a pivotal character on and off the pitch for Manchester City since joining from Atletico Madrid for £62.8 million in 2019. Even when he tore his ACL in September 2024 and was sidelined for nine months, he mentored Gonzalez and supported the club behind the scenes.
Alike to the departure of Kevin De Bruyne, who joined Napoli last summer on a free, exits for Rodri, Gonzalez and Silva – should and when they come – will be heavily felt around east Manchester, though hope shouldn’t be lost.
Hugo Viana, City’s sporting director, has already stamped his ambition to make big chances to the club’s midfield in the upcoming transfer window, with Nottingham Forest and England star Elliot Anderson a top target amid a belief that the Blues are the leading contenders to sign the 23-year-old.
That being said, Guardiola may have Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali at his disposal next season if Viana feels City can swoop in for the Italian come the end of the campaign. Tonali told Newcastle he would consider an exit if they fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League – having suffered a humiliating Round of 16 exit this week at the hands of Barcelona.