Newcastle United are in talks to sign Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez.
The north east club are seeking midfield reinforcements this summer after the departures of Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur and Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal, and talks over a deal for Nico are among a number of exploratory conversations taking place.
Nico made 41 appearances for City during the 2025-26 season but started only two Premier League games after January, including the final match of the season when Pep Guardiola selected a number of fringe players.
Despite that, the 24-year-old said earlier this month he had no issues with his game time at the Etihad Stadium and that he wanted to stay at the club. He appeared as a substitute for the final 11 minutes of Sunday’s Community Shield defeat by Arsenal.
Newcastle have made six signings this summer, including midfielders Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur, but with only two over the age of 20 in a distinct shift of transfer policy. There has been change in the dugout too, with former Red Bull Salzburg and Al Ahli head coach Matthias Jaissle replacing Eddie Howe earlier this month.
Nico, a former Spain Under-21 international, joined City on deadline day of the 2025 January transfer window in a €60million (£52m, $68.9m) deal from Porto. He was signed when City were short on midfield options and dealing with the absence of Rodri through an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
That season, he started nine of City’s remaining 14 Premier League matches, and helped to overturn a mid-season slump of form which saw Guardiola’s side fall away from Premier League title contention.
Nico is a product of Barcelona’s La Masia youth system and made 37 first-team appearances for the Catalan club before spending 2022-23 on loan at Valencia. He then joined Porto in the summer of 2023.
He has yet to earn his first cap for Spain, and was not included in Luis de la Fuente’s squad for this summer’s World Cup.
It is a summer of big change for City, with Guardiola leaving after a decade and Enzo Maresca replacing him. Rodri has also departed, with a move to Barcelona announced on Tuesday afternoon, while former key players Bernardo Silva and John Stones left the club following the expiry of their contracts in June.
What could Nico offer Newcastle?
Analysis by Conor O’Neill
Signed in the aftermath of Rodri’s ACL injury, Nico Gonzalez never quite established himself in Manchester City’s star-studded midfield. Not meeting Pep Guardiola’s exacting demands is no mark of shame, though, and Newcastle will hope to unlock the talent that made City move for him in the first place.
Gonzalez profiled similarly at City to the departing Rodri, with the dashboard below revealing a press-resistant midfielder with a strong appetite for the ball and a knack for keeping possession ticking over. He also helped maintain City’s intense counterpressing, averaging more interceptions per 90 last season than any of their other midfield options.
For all his neat interplay, there was a sense that Gonzalez never quite fit the Guardiola mould. He is a physical midfielder who likes to carry the ball upfield, a quality that can be stifled by City’s possession-heavy style.
At Porto, he was known more for his box-to-box qualities, which could find a more natural home on Tyneside, particularly if Matthias Jaissle maintains the frantic, physical style developed by Eddie Howe.