Last week, Manchester City swooped to sign the Argentina international Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia in a deal worth a reported £32 million. The centre-back has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad, and is the Citizens third major summer signing following the addition of England duo Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph.
Speaking about his latest signing, manager Manuel Pellegrini was clearly delighted to have secured the Argentine’s services:
“Nicolas Otamendi was arguably the best defender in La Liga last season and so naturally I’m delighted to have added a player of his quality…“As a footballer, Nicolas has all of the qualities to be a success in the Premier League – he’s strong, he’s excellent in the tackle and he’s very good technically.”
THE HISTORY
Born in Buenos Aires, Otamendi began his youth career at Velez Sarsfield, before making his first-team debut for the Argentinian outfit in 2008. He was named in the South American Team of the Year in 2009, and his performances attracted the attention of Portuguese side Porto, who signed the defender for €4 million in the summer of 2010.
Otamendi enjoyed a successful first season in Portugal, helping Porto win the Premeira Liga, while he also managed to score five times in his 15 league outings. He would go on to win two more league titles, as he chalked up a further 62 appearances for the Portuguese giants, although he only scored a two more goals.
The Argentine was sold to Valencia for €12 million in February 2014, but was loaned to Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro for the rest of the 2013/14 campaign, where he made five league appearances, before returning to the Spanish side for the following season, where he played 35 times in La Liga, scoring six goals.
The 27-year-old defender made his international debut against Panama in April 2009, and has since gone on to make 25 appearances for his country, scoring one goal. He was named in the Team of the Tournament in this summer’s Copa America, where he played in all but one of Argentina’s six matches as they lost out to Chile in the final on penalties.
THE PROSPECTS
Given Otamendi’s standing as one of the best centre-backs in Europe last season, the Argentine is ultimately expected to partner skipper Vincent Kompany at the heart of the City defence. The early season form of Eliaquim Mangala, a former team-mate of Otamendi at Porto does, however, throw a little doubt on that assumption.
Indeed, as Pellegrini admitted prior to the weekend win at Everton – a match Otamendi was unavailable for due to work permit issues – he’s happy with his defence at the moment:
“In the way we are playing, it is impossible to move Kompany and Mangala and all the rest of the players from their positions. They are in a good moment. We did not concede one goal in the last two games. We continue playing with the same. We played very well in these two games. Vincent played very well, Mangala played very well, all the team played very well and it is very important to continue in that way.”
City have yet to concede in their three league outings so far this term, and seem to be benefitting from some continuity in their back four, with Bacary Sagna, Kompany, Mangala and Aleksandar Kolarov all working well in unison. Mangala’s struggles of last season illustrated how it can be difficult for defenders to settle in England’s top-flight and while Otamendi is a much more experienced player, he may still take a little time to become accustomed to the pace of the Premier League.
In terms of comparing the two players, Otamendi fared better in tackles (2.9 to 1.7), clearances (7.3 to 5.9), interceptions (3.1 to 1.6) and blocks (0.8 to 0.5) per league match last season than Mangala –indeed, he made more clearances (258) than any player in La Liga in 2014/15. There is evidence that the France international is starting to read the game better, though – his interceptions per match have risen to 3.7 so far this season.
Perhaps the main obstacle for Otamendi’s Fantasy prospects is the somewhat prohibitive 6.5 price tag he’s been handed in Fantasy Premier League (FPL). While he scored six goals and averaged 0.6 shots per match last year, compared to 0.2 for Kompany (although the Belgian is managing 1.2 goal attempts per match this term), the fact the City skipper ‘s security of makes his price tag of 6.3 in FPL looks far more appealing. There’s also the cheaper Kolarov (5.7) to consider from the City backline, given he appears to have formed a strong understanding with Sterling down the left-hand side. Nonetheless, the Serbian could yet be prone to rotation once the Champions League resumes next month, with Gael Clichy now fit for selection.
There’s no doubt Otamendi arrives in England with the potential to become one of the best centre-backs in the top flight. Despite only standing six foot tall, his aerial prowess makes him a real threat from set-pieces and could well see him bring in the points at both ends of the pitch. He’s also versatile enough to play at right-back, should Pellegrini look for alternatives in light of Pablo Zabaleta’s knee injury absence.
With City set for a superb run of fixtures (WAT, cpl, WHM, tot, NEW, BOU) in the next six Gameweeks, many are looking to load up on their main assets but for now, Otamendi looks an unnecessary gamble. There seems little doubt that he will ultimately usurp Mangala in the heart of defence but, bearing in mind his side’s stunning start to the season, it seems unlikely that the City boss will feel the need to tinker with a winning formula for now.
FURTHER REFERENCE
Nicolas Otamendi Transfer Markt Page
Nicolas Otamendi YouTube Highlights
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