Pep Guardiola breaks silence on Manchester City midfielder after failed 2025 summer exit | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has addressed Nico Gonzalez’s future at the club after talk of a potential exit in the recent transfer window.

Gonzalez is set to start in midfield for Manchester City in their UEFA Champions League group-phase tie against Villarreal in Spain on Tuesday evening, having received huge plaudits for his performance in Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Everton.

The 23-year-old has been one of Manchester City’s best players this season as Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri grapples with recurring injury setbacks that have derailed the Spain international’s fitness since his return to action in May.

Since joining Manchester City from Porto for £50 million in May, Gonzalez has proved as a more-than-capable deputy for Rodri, with Guardiola extolling the Barcelona academy graduate’s virtues and his desire to learn and keep improving.

City are undergoing a period of change on and off the pitch in the backdrop of a sliding doors transfer window that saw the appointment of Hugo Viana as director of football, with the Portuguese conducting a thorough audit of Guardiola’s squad.

Viana signed off on the exits of a series of senior stars as Manchester City trimmed their wage bill, streamlined the first-team ranks and recruited seven new signings to challenge for major trophies in the seasons to come – after a sub-par 2024-25 campaign wherein the Blues record third-place and Round of 16 finishes in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

Gonzalez has anchored the midfield in Rodri’s continuing absence this season, with the 23-year-old taking every opportunity with both hands and solidifying his status as a reliable option for Guardiola, who has criticised Rodri for wanting to play too much too soon after his return from a lengthy ACL lay-off in the summer.

Manchester City face Villarreal in their third UEFA Champions League group-phase clash on Tuesday evening and Gonzalez is set to partner club captain Bernardo Silva and one of Tijjani Reijnders or Rayan Cherki in the middle of the park.

“I have the feeling he’s getting better and better. It’s not easy sometimes arriving in a new club and playing a different style to maybe playing in the past,” said Guardiola on Gonzalez ahead of Tuesday’s game in Villarreal.

“But we’re really pleased with his behaviour and I’m pretty (sure) he’ll be better and better, month by month, year by year because he’s so coachable, open-minded, and a lovely, lovely guy – his mum and dad has to be so proud about how he is as a human being and as a player. And I have the feeling every game he’s better and better.”

Gonzalez was linked with a potential exit from the Etihad Stadium in the summer, with transfer insider Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Spain international was open to leaving in anticipation of limited playing opportunities this season.

However, the Spaniard has stayed put and is embracing the prospect of learning from Rodri and Guardiola day-in and day-out, with Manchester City in clear need of a reliable stand-in for their Ballon d’Or winner as they look to win some silverware this season.