Manchester City Agrees Deal For Porto Midfielder Nico Gonzalez

Manchester City look set to sign Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez, which stands to take their January transfer window spending to almost £180m.

The City team fell 15 points short of Premier League leaders Liverpool over the weekend, having also played one additional match, effectively diminishing their chances of securing an unprecedented fifth consecutive title.

The reigning champions have responded in a big way to particularly dreadful form across November and December derailing their season.

The new arrivals won’t resurrect the current campaign but could give City a jump on 2025/26 by giving those recruits extra time to settle and adapt.

Once the anticipated deal for Gonzalez is finalized, the Spaniard will become the fifth signing of the winter, joining Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush, and Juma Bah, who have collectively cost approximately £127 million.

After City identified 23-year-old Gonzalez as a target, there was initially some back and forth over the player’s €60m (£50m) release clause. ESPN reported that City made it known they weren’t willing to meet such a high figure, preferring a reduced €40m (£33m) deal.

However, Porto was unwilling to decrease the price because they owed Barcelona up to 40% of the transfer fee because of a sell-on clause.

But, on Monday afternoon, Fabrizio Romano reported that City had relented over the higher number.

They stopped short of triggering the clause and, therefore won’t have to pay upfront but have agreed to the full amount in structured installments.

That important development enabled Gonzalez to travel to Manchester with sufficient time for a medical examination and to finalize the contracts. This should ensure the deal is completed before Monday’s deadline.

Gonzalez started his career at Barcelona after graduating from La Masia around the same time as fellow midfielder Gavi.

He played 37 first-team games in 2021/22, but was loaned to Valencia the following season and then joined Porto for just €8.5m in the summer of 2023.