Matthias Jaissle called it a “long fight”. Newcastle won it late.
Nico Gonzalez walked out to a rapturous welcome at a sold-out St James’ Park before Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie with West Brom, signed from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £50m and handed the No 6 shirt. The 24-year-old is the club’s seventh signing of a rebuilt summer.
The scouting report they wanted came free.
Guardiola: ‘He is our mini-Rodri’
Eighteen months before the transfer, Pep Guardiola had already delivered his verdict. After Manchester City beat Newcastle 4-0 on 15 February 2025 in Gonzalez’s Premier League debut, the City boss handed him a nickname.
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“He is our mini-Rodri,” Guardiola said in his post-match press conference.
For a player whose task at Newcastle is to fill the space left by Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali, few labels carry more weight. Rodri is the reference every European No 6 is measured against.
Guardiola has since expanded the picture, focusing more on character than style.
“Nico is a young lad and he is incredibly coachable,” Guardiola told reporters. “When players want to be coachable, it’s a gift for all the managers.”
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The Spaniard also credited Gonzalez’s willingness to adapt after moving from Porto.
“It’s not easy sometimes arriving in a new club and playing a different style to maybe playing in the past. But we’re really pleased with his behaviour and I’m pretty [sure] he’ll get better and better.”
Gonzalez came through Barcelona’s La Masia before Porto bought him and then sold him on to City for £50m in January 2025. Newcastle have paid the same base fee 18 months later, with the deal rising to £52m in add-ons.
Jaissle inherits a midfield rebuild
The head coach who signed him has been in the job three weeks. Matthias Jaissle was appointed on 5 August 2026 after Eddie Howe left, and Gonzalez is his statement addition to a squad drained of experience at the base.
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“It’s always important if you’re making signings like Nico that there is a commitment there,” Jaissle told BBC Sport at St James’ Park. “But he showed that from the beginning, from our first conversations.”
Guimarães was sold to Arsenal earlier in the window; Tonali left for Tottenham. Alongside Gonzalez, Newcastle have added Bazoumana Toure, Amar Dedic, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur, Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen. Only Gonzalez arrived with a Pep Guardiola nickname attached.
Newcastle beat West Brom 3-2 on the night.
Sources: – [Newcastle United 3-2 West Bromwich Albion, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-west-bromwich-albion/577432) – [Guardiola calls Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri’, The Manc](https://themanc.com/sport/pep-guardiola-calls-nico-gonzalez-a-mini-rodri-newcastle-highlights/) – [Newcastle transfer news – Nico Gonzalez completes £50m move, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11678/13577494/x)
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