Manchester City are going to be looking for a new midfielder in the January transfer window.
Indeed, the Cityzens are in terrible form at the moment, and something needs to change very quickly.
Luckily, January is only a few weeks away, and City can get to work addressing some of their issues in the winter.
Midfield is clearly a problem position for City after Rodri was ruled out with a season-ending injury against Arsenal.
Martin Zubimendi has been linked with City, while City are also keen on Bruno Guimaraes.
Guimaraes is a top player, and he’d suit City perfectly, and according to The Athletic, Pep Guardiola has already made his admiration of Guimaraes known.
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on...
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
What Pep Guardiola has told Bruno Guimaraes
According to The Athletic, Pep Guardiola has already personally told Bruno Guimaraes that he’s a fan of his.
The Spaniard has had brief conversations with Guimaraes, and in those chats, he’s been clear about the fact he’s a fan of the Newcastle midfielder.
Guimaraes reportedly believes he is a player good enough to turn out for a Champions League club, and he would apparently be tempted by this move.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Guimaraes has been linked with a move away from Newcastle.
Arsenal were linked with Guimaraes in the summer, while Liverpool supposedly asked about Guimaraes too during that period.
Bruno Guimaraes compared to Rodri
It’s interesting to see that Guardiola is such a fan of Guimaraes, but when you look at the stats, it’s not hard to understand why.
Indeed, Guardiola wants a Rodri replacement, and Guimaraes’ profile fits that very well.
Bruno Guimaraes stats this season Rodri stats last season
Tackles per game 2.1 2.1
Interceptions per game 0.9 1.4
Assists per game 0.26 0.19
Key passes per game 1.4 0.9
Pass success rate 92.5% 82.5%
Long balls per game 7.1 2.1
In terms of defensive output, Guimaraes and Rodri are very similar in terms of tackling and interception stats.
However, on the ball is where Rodri does outshine Guimaraes.
Not only is Rodri’s pass success rate better than Bruno’s he also makes more key passes per game and he’s way more expansive, playing a lot more long balls too.
Rodri is a Ballon d’Or winner for a reason and there’s no shame in not being at exactly the same level as the Spaniard, but perhaps under the tutelage of Guardiola, Guimaraes could step up that extra level and become a world-class player on the level of Rodri.
Manchester City certainly need a midfielder in the January transfer window, and this situation is definitely one to keep an eye on.
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