Pep Guardiola explains Nico O’Reilly Man City transfer decision after Chelsea approach
Chelsea made an approach to Manchester City over Nico O’Reilly in the winter transfer window but were unsuccessful in their attempt
Pep Guardiola has explained why Manchester City resisted the interest in Nico O’Reilly following an approach from Chelsea in the January transfer window.
The 19-year-old midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca looked to bolster his options in the middle of the park. O’Reilly only made his Premier League debut for Manchester City last month, coming off the subs bench in a 6-0 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
While the England Under-20 international has only featured once in the English top-flight, he has been given starts in the domestic cup competitions. Despite having played less than 350 minutes of senior football, he has impressed and caught the attention of Chelsea.
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The Blues approached City regarding O’Rielly’s availability but were rebuffed. It’s said that initial talks collapsed when the Premier League champions insisted on including a buy-back clause.
Explaining City’s decision to keep some of their academy products, Guardiola said: “We are not able to loan or sell players right now – we have had a lot of injury problems. We need O’Reilly, [James] McAtee, [Divin] Mubama – we have a lot of games and we need them.”
Guardiola has been impressed by the 19-year-old and recalled how amazed he felt when O’Reilly trained with the senior team for the first time. “He had a long, long injury last season,” Guardiola previously said. He came back in the middle of last season and trained with us and I said, ‘Wow’.
“This guy has good things. From corners, good header, so strong in the duels, in the small spaces he moves well. As an attacking midfielder, you will see him arrive [in the box], he can play the dual position, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder. It’s because of the academy, we are blessed to have these players.”
Manchester City have clearly found a player in Nico O’Reilly now he needs more opportunities to develop
Manchester City beat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 yesterday at the Etihad Stadium to book their place in the quarter-finals of this season’s FA Cup. A brace from Nico O’Reilly and a late goal to Kevin De Bruyne was enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to overturn a 1-nil deficit. A 38th-minute header from Maksym Talovierov gave Plymouth Argyle a shock lead at the Etihad.
There were plenty of positives for Pep Guardiola and his team to take from yesterday’s match. One of those was the performance of Nico O’Reilly. He showed yesterday that he belongs in Manchester City’s first team and that he needs more opportunities to develop further.
O’Reilly started at left-back yesterday for Manchester City. He stepped into the Josko Gvardiol role for Pep Guardiola’s side. In possession, he was comfortable, and he didn’t have a great deal to do defensively. Plymouth Argyle only had one attack of note as City dominated yesterday’s match. But when he did have to defend he was comfortable. Nico O’Reilly scored a brace as his size at set pieces was a valuable weapon for Manchester City.
But more than his goals it’s clear to see that O’Reilly has the attributes that City lack in midfield. He is good on the ball, can make attacking runs from midfield and he has the size and athleticism that Pep Guardiola’s side lacks. That does stand out when you see him play. He is a towering midfielder and you do feel that his game could complement that of Rodri and Nico and potentially form a powerful midfield trio for Manchester City. The potential is there for O’Reilly to develop into a key player for Pep Guardiola’s side. He just needs to play more often to do just that.
Pep Guardiola sings the praises of Nico O’Reilly and highlights what he adds to the Manchester City first-team.
Speaking after his team’s win Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the performance of Nico O’Reilly. He added that O’Reilly, with his size and athleticism, adds something different to his team. Speaking on O’Reilly, Guardiola told the media: “He’s not a typical player from the Academy because they are all small and have big talent, but he has a big, big presence. Sometimes we take a good decision otherwise he would not have scored two goals today. Normally he’s an attacking midfielder and runs to the box really well. He adapted really well to the full-back role. Nico’s another threat from set-pieces because we are not a tall team. He helps us and played really good with the ball, without the ball. Two fantastic goals.”
Manchester City have found a player in Nico O’Reilly. He has the technical ability to develop into a key contributor for Pep Guardiola’s side. Furthermore, O’Reilly has the size and athleticism to add something different to Manchester City’s play. Now he just needs more opportunities to develop as a player. The hope is that he can get those towards the end of this season and at the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer to set him up for next season and beyond.
