The question now becomes when does Nico Gonzàlez debut for Manchester City? | OneFootball

Manchester City finally signed a midfielder on transfer deadline day yesterday. They completed the signing of talented midfielder Nico Gonzàlez from FC Porto. Gonzàlez does look to be a player who will immediately add what City’s midfield has so desperately lacked this season. But the question now appears to be when will the Spanish midfielder debut for Pep Guardiola’s side? Manchester City are in the midst of a gruelling run of fixtures. It does appear that it could be a case of Nico Gonzàlez being thrown into the deep end at his new club.

It would be safe to assume that Nico Gonzàlez is likely to debut in one of Manchester City’s next two fixtures. A look at City’s fixture list shows that are due to play Leyton Orient in a fourth-round FA Cup tie at Gaughan Group Stadium this Saturday. Following that they take on Real Madrid at the Etihad in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off. It now becomes a question of when will Gonzàlez debut? In an FA Cup tie against a team eager for an upset or when the lights are at their brightest when City take on Real Madrid in the Champions League?

The safe bet would be we will see Manchester City’s new signing feature during their FA Cup tie against Leyton Orient. Pep Guardiola will likely play players who haven’t featured prominently of late. That will especially be the case when you consider his team plays Real Madrid only a couple of days later. That could be the ideal opportunity for Nico Gonzàlez to play from the start or as a substitute. That way he could get some minutes on the pitch with his new teammates.

Manchester City will need Nico Gonzàlez to start against Real Madrid considering City’s midfield woes.

I’d expect Nico Gonzàlez to start against Real Madrid at the Etihad on Tuesday evening. Considering how Real Madrid plays and the issues we have seen with Manchester City’s midfield you just cannot see Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva starting in midfield against Real Madrid’s young and energetic midfield. Players such as Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and others appear to be well-suited to exploiting City’s lack of legs in midfield. That’s why you’d expect Nico Gonzàlez to start at the Etihad. Based on that assumption you’d assume Gonzàlez features against Leyton Orient and starts against Real Madrid. Tickets to potentially see Nico Gonzàlez start for Manchester City can be found here.

The safe bet would be that Nico Gonzàlez makes his Manchester City debut against Leyton Orient. That’s the safest option. He can play some minutes with his new team before they face off against Real Madrid. The possibility of City’s new signing making his debut against Real Madrid isn’t a far fetched idea. It just appears to be something that would place pressure on Gonzàlez right from the start of his Manchester City career. We will have to wait and see when the Spanish midfielder will debut for City but it’s safe bet that it will be in one of their next two games.