Pep Guardiola says Nico Gonzalez can be a very important signing for Manchester City after completing a deadline day move from Porto.
The 23-year-old former Barcelona midfielder made a £50m to the club to cap off a busy January for City which also saw Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov arrive.
Gonzalez could make his debut for City in the FA Cup clash with Leyton Orient on Saturday and Guardiola backed him to improve his team in the absence of the injured Rodri.
“Yeah really important,” he said when asked how crucial it was to bring him in.
“It’s a position where we were weak from the absence of Rodri. He’s a young player, 23-years-old, can play as a number six, number eight, more in the pockets.
“His physicality, he’s a strong boy. I know him from his time in Barcelona.
“I’m really pleased for the club to bring him here for the next years.”
The clash with League One Leyton Orient could also present a chance for Jack Grealish to get some game time having found himself out of favour this season.
But Guardiola insists Grealish’s lack of minutes is because of how well summer signing Savinho has settled in.
“I’m sorry he didn’t get the minutes he maybe deserves but in the end the contribution from Jeremy and Savinho have been massive this season,” he said.
“That’s the only reason. It’s not personal or because I don’t like Jack or I don’t have confidence.
“Of course if you play one player more minutes than the other one, you have more confidence right now but I know his attributes.
“One of the big news of this season is Savinho. It’s his first season here, the impact with assists and goals, last game against Arsenal he made an incredible step up defensively and challenging in the duels with Timber and other players.
“This is the reason why. The manager sometimes has to select one player. It’s not because you don’t like the other one it’s because you believe a player in that moment of the season can give you better.”
