What does Nolito bring to Manchester City?
By: Raphael Minter
Manuel Agudo Durán (Nolito) joins compatriots David Villa and Jesus Navas at Manchester City. Pep Guardiola paid Celta Vigo £13.8m to bring the attacker to Manchester City this summer.
With the good number of attackers available for selection at Manchester City, one would wonder why Pep Guardiola signed the 29-year-old attacker.
Don’t go too far we got you covered, here are 4 things Nolito will bring to Manchester City.
1. Good back up to Aguero
Last season Manchester City had to bank on their young forward Kelechi Iheanacho when Wilfred Bony couldn’t deliver the goods following repeated injuries to their star man Aguero.
Nolito has a winger who also plays as a forward would fit in perfectly if Aguero’s injury woes continue. Aguero barely played five consecutive matches last season, playing Nolito as a target mam could be an option.
2. Player for Pep’s tinkering
Pep Guardiola is known for his tactical tinkering having played varying formations across his clubs, it is yet to be known what tactics he’ll employ considering it is Premier League.
We may not know what formation Pep Guardiola will play this season, but we know he likes to play possesive football and Nolito who has great passing and dribbling skills will do a job.
Nolito will combine with Silva and Aguero perfectly if Pep Guardiola gives him the nod to feature as the top three in either of 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation.
3. Depth in the attacking department
Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva, Navas, Nasri and Ihenacho are obviously strong attacking options, but adding Nolito to the above listed players is a good problem for any manager
With everyone trying to impress their new manager competition for a starting spot will be immense and Nolito who is used to such competition will find a way out as he did at Benfica and Celta Vigo.
4. He will help Guardiola achieve his goals
Pep has not only made impact at the clubs he had managed, he also changed the way football is being played in those countries. Nolito’s Barcelona background will be of great help to Pep’s style of play.
Although, he has to adapt to the fast tempo of the English.