He’s mini-Rodri – Guardiola hails Gonzalez

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Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has hailed midfielder, Nico Gonzalez as a ‘mini-Rodri.’

Guardiola spoke as Man City thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 in the Premier League over the weekend, thanks to a hat-trick from Omar Marmoush.

Gonzalez made his Premier League debut against Newcastle and caught the eye of Guardiola.

Guardiola believes that the 23-year-old could have finally provided him with a proper replacement for Rodri, who is still recovering from an ACL injury.

“I think the presence of Nico helped us a lot because of 10 balls, the 50-50s, he wins seven and you can run,” Guardiola said at his post-match after City defeated Newcastle.

“When you lose seven, they will run. I have the feeling the club bought an incredible player for the future, in terms of mentality.

“He’s so young, 23 remember, like a mini-Rodri. That’s a big compliment – but there’s this feeling for the big presence, the duels.

“Of course, he’s miles away from Rodri. Rodri is the best.

“But I had the feeling, everyone had the feeling, that he’s going to help us in the last part of the season.”

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He added, “He likes to attack the space and he helps to play with more time. When we play like we did today, everyone is better – even the manager!”

Gonzalez joined Man City from Porto for around £50million on transfer deadline.

He made an instant impact in the heart of Man City’s midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan.

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