Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has hailed midfielder, Nico Gonzalez as a ‘mini-Rodri.’
Guardiola spoke as Man City thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 in the Premier League over the weekend, thanks to a hat-trick from Omar Marmoush.
Gonzalez made his Premier League debut against Newcastle and caught the eye of Guardiola.
Guardiola believes that the 23-year-old could have finally provided him with a proper replacement for Rodri, who is still recovering from an ACL injury.
“I think the presence of Nico helped us a lot because of 10 balls, the 50-50s, he wins seven and you can run,” Guardiola said at his post-match after City defeated Newcastle.
“When you lose seven, they will run. I have the feeling the club bought an incredible player for the future, in terms of mentality.
“He’s so young, 23 remember, like a mini-Rodri. That’s a big compliment – but there’s this feeling for the big presence, the duels.
“Of course, he’s miles away from Rodri. Rodri is the best.
“But I had the feeling, everyone had the feeling, that he’s going to help us in the last part of the season.”
He added, “He likes to attack the space and he helps to play with more time. When we play like we did today, everyone is better – even the manager!”
Gonzalez joined Man City from Porto for around £50million on transfer deadline.
He made an instant impact in the heart of Man City’s midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan.
