One of Manchester City’s premium January signings was midfielder Nico Gonzalez. The former Barcelona star, who is a product of the esteemed La Masia academy, made the move to the Etihad Stadium for £50m from Portuguese side FC Porto.
So far, the 23-year-old is only a short way into his Citizens career. He has only played eight times so far for Pep Guardiola’s side, starting six times in the Premier League and Champions League.
It was the latter competition in which he scored his first, and to date, only goal for City, although it was a consolation strike against Real Madrid.
Playing as a number six so far for City, Gonzalez was partly signed to help ease the blow of Rodri’s absence, who is still sidelined with injury.
Based on the statistics above, he’s done a pretty good job of covering.
The latest on Rodri's injury recovery at Man City
It has been a tough season for City on the pitch, which has not been helped by the fact that Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, a key player in the middle of the park, has been out injured. The Spaniard picked up a serious knee ligament injury against Arsenal in September and is yet to return.
However, at the start of March, there was some positive news to come out of the City camp surrounding the midfielder’s return to action. Guardiola said he was unsure if Rodri would make it back before the end of the season, but did not rule it out, saying “maybe it’s going to happen”.
Incredibly, the Spain international, who won Euro 2024 last summer, has already returned to training on grass. City’s official account posted a video on social media at the end of February of their star man sprinting and training with a ball at his feet.
So, there are encouraging signs that the Spain international will be back before too long. Even if he doesn’t play in the Premier League this season, then perhaps he will feature in the Club World Cup over the summer.
Either way, there is no doubt he has been a big miss for City. Perhaps Guardiola wishes they had kept one player at the club over the summer, who could have helped City in Rodri’s absence.
Manchester City's in-house Rodri alternative
City have plenty of exciting youngsters on their books, so finding a way to fit them all in the squad is not necessarily easy.
One of the players they loaned out in the summer was midfielder Maximo Perrone, who could have been a perfect Rodri alternative.
The 22-year-old midfielder has spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Como, managed by legendary midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Playing as a number six, Perrone has featured in 18 games this season, grabbing two assists.
He does have an eye for goal, too, as he showed in pre-season. The Argentine youngster scored for City in one of their games, slotting home from close range and showcasing his ability going forward.
Perrone has featured twice for City so far in competitive action, with both appearances coming in their treble-winning season, 2022/23. He played in the FA Cup and Premier League, before going on loan to Las Palmas the following season.
In Spain, the youngster was impressive. He completed the most progressive passes per game by a U21 player across the big five leagues in Europe, with 8.41. That is according to Wyscout via football talent scout Jacek Kulig.
This term, his numbers from FBref are also impressive. He is impressive on the ball, completing 55.69 passes per 90 minutes on average, ranking him in the top 11% of Serie A midfielders. He also averages 2.86 tackles and interceptions each game. It’s easy to see, therefore, why he’s allegedly modelled his game on one of Pep’s favourite ever players; Sergio Busquets.
Passes
55.69
89th
Pass accuracy
89.6%
93rd
Key passes
1.26
69th
Tackles and interceptions
2.86
65th
Ball recoveries
4.82
60th
Football analyst Ben Mattinson said that City should have “used Perrone to manage Rodri’s minutes”, labelling him the “ideal Rodri back-up”, which is backed up well by the stats. He is quality on the ball, which is demanded of him in Guardiola’s side and is defensively astute, too.
Looking ahead to next season, the Citizens might well look to integrate the youngster into the side, to help take the burden off Rodri and provide an excellent alternative.
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