Manchester City signed Nico González from Porto for €60m (£49.8m) inside the final hour of Monday’s 11pm transfer deadline, with the champions’ fourth major signing of the winter window taking their spending to £172.3m.
The fee for the 23-year-old represents the former Barcelona player’s release clause. City were reluctant to pay the full amount but it is thought the club structured the transfer to source the fee over several instalments, with the Spanish midfielder signing a four-and-a-half-year contract at the Etihad.
González said: “This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career. I am 23 and I want to test myself in England. There’s no better club than Manchester City for me to do that. Look at the squad they have here … it’s unbelievable, full of world-class players. There isn’t a footballer in the world who would not want to be part of this setup.
“I know the reputation Pep has and I cannot wait to work with him. In fact, I am honoured he wants me to play in his team. I am truly excited. I just want to meet my teammates, and the staff here and then I want to play in front of the City fans.”
Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, said: “Nico is a very talented young midfielder. He is an ideal acquisition for Manchester City.”
González bolsters Pep Guardiola’s options and adds depth to the manager’s squad as he can operate as a defensive, central or attacking player. After Rodri’s season-ending knee injury the manager had been light in midfield, having been able to call on Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, the veterans Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne, plus the utility player Rico Lewis, whom Guardiola has fielded centrally on occasion.
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In the window City previously signed the forward Omar Marmoush for €70m (£59.1m) plus €5m in add-ons from Eintracht Frankfurt and the defenders Vitor Reis, bought from Palmeiras for £29.6m, and Abdukodir Khusanov, signed for £33.8m from Lens. The quartet of new arrivals signals the beginning of a major rebuild for Guardiola, with City currently outside the top four.
