The Galician midfielder has not found continuity so far and Sergio Conceiçao still does not trust him for big games; This Tuesday he returns to Barcelona
Barça sold 50% of its rights for 8.5 million and is closely monitoring its evolution; The Barça club is the first interested in things going well for him
One of the greatest talents that La Masia has produced in recent times, Nico González is not taking off at Porto. The Galician midfielder, with magnificent conditions to become a great player, has not entered Sergio Conceiçao’s ecosystem on the right foot. An important bet by the ‘Dragons’, who paid 8.5 million to acquire 50% of their rights, is still looking for its place.
Fate wanted Nico to cross paths with his Barça much sooner than expected. Framed in the same Champions group, H, Porto and Barça met in the first round duel on October 4. The Galician was a substitute and barely participated in the last five minutes in a duel that his team lost. Despite playing much better than Barça.
These seas they see each other again. AND At SPORT we have chatted with two Portuguese journalists who follow Porto’s day-to-day life to analyze a little the situation of the former Barça player. The Barça club, by the way, is following its developments very closely, since it has that 50% of a future sale.
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
“I think that His problem for the Porto coach has to do with intensity. Nico started playing, technically he is very good and I think Sergio Conceiçao gives a lot of importance to the intensity, to the defensive ability of the player. Sergio uses the wings more, he likes to play a lot on the outside and not have the ball go through the middle as much. I think Nico will have to become a more intense player defensively to be able to have more opportunities,” says Joao Napoles, from ‘CNN Portugal’.
“I was surprised that The other day in a Cup match against a lower category team he was not a starter. They used almost all the starters, I imagine in preparation for this Tuesday’s game,” adds Napoles. “This is not a loan, it is a financial bet by Porto. A club that has an economic problem and has put a lot of effort into it. Pepé, Luis Díaz (now at Liverpool) took a while to earn their position. “I think there will be patience with him.”
CONCEIÇAO’S PATIENCE
For his part, Joao Pedro Silva, from RTP, states that “it is a question of the type of football different from the one he was used to. Another tactical system. Sergio Conceiçao forces the players to have a lot of intensity in the game, the player has to win the duels. Round trip, with a lot of physical exhaustion. “Look for space a lot, quick transitions.”
Nico González, with the Porto and Barça shirts
| sport.es
“I think Sergio wanted a profile like Uribe, he thought Nico could fill that void. He has Eustaquio and he signed Alan Varela in the summer, who has supplanted Nico a bit. He has adapted better. Will Porto be patient? I think Conceiçao usually doesn’t have much patience. They have been losing fundamental players, Otávio, Luis Díaz, they have been working miracles. But he needs the players who come in to adapt quickly, playing. And Nico is not on that wavelength I think.”