Pep Guardiola given £70m January transfer headache as Man City duo shine vs Swansea | OneFootball

Rayan Cherki and Nico Gonzalez impressed as Manchester City beat Swansea City in the League Cup, and the latter’s performance means Pep Guardiola must soon make a £70million (€79.5m / $92m) signing decision.

Nico came into the starting eleven for his 13th appearance of the season at Swansea, with first-choice defensive midfielder Rodri left out of the squad as he steps up his return from a hamstring injury. Pep Guardiola says Rodri ‘is getting better’ and is back in first-team training, though his exact return date is unclear.

Nico was solid in Rodri’s absence, helping Man City pick up a 3-1 win on the road and advance to the quarter-finals. The MEN described Nico as ‘a calm presence who can push the tempo’, similar to Rodri’s style of play.

Swansea 1-3 Man City: How it happened

The MEN gave Nico a 7/10 rating for his display, putting him level with the likes of Marmoush and Doku, and behind only Cherki (8).

After the game, City Xtra revealed Nico completed the most dribbles (1), completed the most passes (123), made the most tackles (4) and won the most duels (8) of any player vs Swansea.

Supporter Priceless_MCI wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Nico Gonzalez appreciation post, he’s holding up that midfield until Rodri returns!’

Cherki ‘scintillating’, Nico ‘fundamental’

Guardiola, meanwhile, said the 23-year-old is defensively ‘fundamental’ for his side.

Cherki was even better, notching a goal and assist in what City Xtra called a ‘scintillating’ performance. They added that he was ‘the star of the show’, while the MEN called his outing ‘superb’.

Now the France star is back to full fitness, he could push Phil Foden all the way for his No 10 role. But Guardiola also has a decision to make in defensive midfield…

Portuguese newspaper Record revealed on Wednesday that City are rivalling Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for the £70m capture of Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand.

Guardiola must make big midfield decision

City have supposedly identified Hjulmand as an ideal signing to help them move on from Rodri, amid worries the Ballon d’Or winner might never get back to his true best.

The Cityzens have also been linked with several other defensive midfielders, including Aleksandar Pavlovic and Elliot Anderson, though Nico wants to prove that no such signing is needed.

Nico put himself firmly into Guardiola’s thinking with his prominent display at Swansea. While he is not on Rodri’s level, he showed he can perform a very similar role, allowing the likes of Cherki and Marmoush to thrive in attack.

The next step for Nico is to perform the same against better midfielders. As such, the upcoming matches against Bournemouth and Borussia Dortmund could prove crucial to whether City dip into the January market for a new No 6.