Nico Gonzalez is finally finding his stride at Porto after a sluggish start following his transfer from Barcelona last summer.
The midfielder made the decision to depart Barcelona in search of regular playing time, with the Catalan club selling him for €8.5 million while retaining a percentage of any future transfer fee and including a buy-back clause.
Once considered the potential heir to Sergio Busquets in Barcelona’s academy, Nico’s path to the first team was hindered by various factors, ultimately leading to his departure. Xavi, the Barcelona manager, viewed Nico as a more attacking-minded player compared to Busquets, akin to Frenkie de Jong, and sanctioned his departure before signing Oriol Romeu from Girona.
However, the signing of Romeu hasn’t yielded the desired results, with Andreas Christensen now being deployed in midfield, potentially signaling Romeu’s return to Girona at the end of the season. This leaves Barcelona still in need of a defensive midfielder and with limited funds available for transfers.
Meanwhile, Nico, aged 22, has been gradually finding his rhythm at Porto, earning starts in five of their last six matches. He particularly impressed in Porto’s noteworthy victory over Arsenal in the Champions League, earning praise from the club as their ‘Maestro’ following the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
Conceiçao has praised Nico for knuckling down and forcing his way into the team after a tough start adapting to life with the Portuguese club.
“Playing for Porto is not easy even if you come from Barça,” he said.
“He understood what he had to do within our principles. This is the merit of Nico, who continued to work hard every day even though he was not called up, and I am very aware of this. It has been meritorious work.”