Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola feels Nico Gonzalez took an 'incredible step' forward last season but insists the midfielder has to 'believe more in himself' amid reported interest from Newcastle United.
Newcastle exploring Gonzalez move
The former Spain under-21 international has emerged as a possible midfield target for the Magpies this summer, with the club having opened exploratory talks over a potential transfer. Any deal is in the early stages, and Newcastle are continuing to work on a number of midfield options, but the 24-year-old would be an exciting addition.
Newcastle are in the market for an experienced midfielder following the departures of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali this summer. Gonzalez's 18 months in the Premier League with Manchester City make him a desirable option.
Gonzalez's City career so far
Gonzalez joined City in January last year in a £50million move from Porto. Despite making 41 appearances across all competitions last season, he only started two Premier League games in 2026. He came off the bench in City's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in Sunday's Community Shield.
With Enzo Maresca's side keen on signing Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez, and having already signed Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, Gonzalez could find himself down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola's praise and Postecoglou's comparison
City were desperate to land Gonzalez last year, and Guardiola was a huge fan of the Spaniard. That came out after Gonzalez scored a wonder-goal in their FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton last season.
"Nico has to believe more in himself," Guardiola told TNT Sports. "He has incredible attributes to do that, but sometimes he plays too safe. The mentality of, 'I'm going to shoot, I'm going to score a goal', he has to play in that way. The moment he makes that step, we'll be playing to play regularly. But we're especially happy because, in the absence of Rodri for six or seven months, he has made an incredible step. He plays a lot of minutes, he helps us a lot and so that's why I'm really pleased."
Former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou was working on that game and compared his goal to Steven Gerrard's screamer in the 2006 FA Cup final win for Liverpool over West Ham. "It was a Stevie G special," Postecoglou said. "You know how important it is when you're faced with such a congested final third, sometimes it does take that bit of responsibility from one player. You know with City, they like to work it around the box, but Nico sees and sensed the opportunity, and he changed the course of the game."
Newcastle's midfield search
Newcastle are keen to bring in a midfielder, ideally before Sunday's Premier League opener against Liverpool, and have also previously held talks over signing Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bayern Munich's Joao Palhinha.
