Why Nico Gonzalez could be Matthias Jaissle's missing jigsaw piece

Nico Gonzalez has become our latest summer signing as the rebuild under Matthias Jaissle continues, completing a £50m move from Manchester City.

This could be the most spectacular, as we are signing a midfielder that was once seen as the natural successor for Rodri at the Etihad.

There were patches of good form for him under Pep Guardiola, but he struggled to nail down a regular starting position. Enzo Maresca has come in to take charge and overseen a huge rebuild of his own. It became clear that Gonzalez wouldn’t be playing regularly at the Etihad Stadium, as he saw Marc Guehi played in midfield above him at the weekend.

This has been a market opportunity that has arisen in the last couple of weeks and the timing was perfect for us. After our failure to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Joao Palhinha, it seems like the club has fallen upwards to land an even better player. This is a huge coup for the football club.

Career to date

Nico was a graduate from the world renowned La Masia. He managed to come through all the way to Barcelona’s first team and played more than 30 times for Los Cules. Any player that has come through that system will be expected to have a lot of technical ability. The 24-year-old certainly has that.

A loan spell with Valencia allowed him to gain crucial experience in La Liga. During this period, he became a lot more comfortable playing senior football. Although he didn’t manage to convince Barcelona to keep hold of him, Nico did manage to earn a move to Porto.

This is where he took his game to a new level. Nico was regularly performing to a high standard in Portugal and emerged as one of the league’s best players. Barcelona did include a buy-back clause in the deal, which showed that the club continued to have faith in the midfielder.

However, it was a move to England that followed. Pep Guardiola was in the market for a player that could deputise for Rodri. That highlights the type of player that Nico is and how highly regarded he is in the sport. 

Despite being rated by Guardiola, he could never break into the first team for a sustained period. There were some excellent performances for Manchester City, including one against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Style of play

The comparisons to Rodri have perhaps unfairly pigeonholed Nico during his time in England. He is a powerful and mobile number six, who can play further forward as a box-to-box midfielder if required. Jaissle is likely to view him as a defensive midfielder predominantly, but the versatility he offers is a bonus.

One of Nico’s strengths is his intelligence and reading of the game. He often sees where danger will occur and positions him in the most likely areas to win the ball back. You won’t often see him ball chasing. He loves to do the basics, such as screening, intercepting and recycling possession.

In Jaissle’s system, he will often be seen dropping in between the centre backs and offering that security for the rest of the the defence. That gap between the defence and midfield has been a huge issue for Newcastle United for years. The new manager has identified that and Nico is the solution. Physicality is another strength, as he stands at 6’2” and has the mobility to cover ground quickly.

On the ball, Nico is excellent at recycling possession and keeping the ball, rather than being a hugely creative presence. He will be tasked with playing the first pass to break through into the opposition half, rather than offering the creativity that Bruno Guimaraes used to.

Perhaps a greater strength than his passing is Nico’s ability to carry the ball. The Spaniard is excellent at stepping forward with the ball and beating an opposition player, which opens up space to spring an attack. This will suit the vertical football Jaissle is trying to implement, as he prefers to be positive and step forwards than retreat.

The stats

The technical ability immediately jumps out when you look at his stats. Nico had a pass success rate of 90.3% last season. He was reliable with the ball and rarely gave it away. Although he isn’t a huge creator, his average of 12.00 line breaking passes per ninety minutes places him in the 97th percentile among midfielders.

There is likely to be a drop-off in our team, but he looks perfect to be the player to start attacks for Jaissle and beating the opposition press.

Another way he can do that is by carrying the ball. Nico completed 70.6% of his dribbles last season. He was doing this less often than he did at previous clubs, which is likely a tactical instruction. In our style, he will be given license to do this more often and it is one of his strengths.

Defensively, Nico will immediately improve the team. Last season, he averaged 11.83 defensive contributions per ninety minutes. Further to this, he averaged 1.38 interceptions, 2.53 clearances and 2.41 tackles per ninety minutes. He is effective when the ball is on the deck, but he doesn’t shirk an aerial battle either. The Spaniard averaged 1.9 successful aerial duels per ninety minutes.

One worry will be his high number of fouls committed. He averaged 1.72 per ninety minutes last season, but it was higher than that during his time with Porto.

Verdict

This feels like a huge deal for the football club and it represents a huge statement of intent, after a summer where the club has taken punch after punch. Nico has already played for two of the best teams in Europe and has a lot of experience at a young age. He will get better and he has a point to prove after struggling to break into the team at the Etihad Stadium.

It is easy to see where he will slot into the team. He will likely play alongside Lewis Miley and offer a more structured role. Nico will be tasked with sitting deeper and dropping in between the centre backs when we have the ball. His ability to break lines with his passing and ball carrying will be crucial in the transition phase. The Spaniard will be the most important player as he try to break through the first press.

Nico will step forward and close the passing lanes when we lose the ball, as he attempts to close the central space. He then has the physicality to drop and restrict space in front of our defence, as this is a zone we have struggled with in the past.

This could be a transformative signing that helps Jaissle get his style across, as Nico will be pivotal with and without the ball. He has plenty of experience for his age and will help the younger players in the squad.

If the club get one or two more that carry Nico’s ability, the club could yet emerge as a dangerous force in the Premier League.

Stats taken from fotmob