New Man City boss Pep Guardiola continued his summer of restructuring with the signing of Celta Vigo attacker Nolito. The 29-year-old makes his way to the Etihad after City triggered his £13.8 million release clause, following Spain’s exit from Euro 2016 last month.
Nolito has penned a four-year contract at the Etihad, and speaking to the club’s official website, expressed his delight at being able to link up with fellow countryman Guardiola:
“I’ll do everything that the manager asks of me, try my absolute best and do everything I can to try to repeat the form I’ve shown throughout my career at various clubs… I think that Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world. He knows a lot about the game and he’s going to help me progress as a player and I’m sure he’ll get the best out of me.”
The History
Despite having spent a season with Valencia as a 17-year-old in 2003/04, Nolito’s career only took off after joining Barcelona in 2008. In two seasons playing for Barcelona B, he scored 16 league goals and subsequently made the jump to the first-team squad, earning his Barcelona debut as a substitute against RCD Mallorca in October 2010.
Nolito only made one other league appearance for the Catalan giants, though, and after turning down the club’s offer of a professional contract, joined Benfica in the summer of 2011.
The Spain international enjoyed a blistering start to life in Portugal and scored in his first five matches, but lasted just 18 months, finishing up with a total of 12 goals and eight assists from 35 league appearances. Nolito spent the second half of the 2012/13 season on loan at Spanish side Granada, where he produced three goals and as many assists in 17 outings, before signing with Celta Vigo ahead of the 2013/14 campaign.
That stint with Os Célticos undoubtedly saw Nolito play the best football of his career, with the forward creating 96 goal scoring opportunities in the 2014/15 campaign, more than any other player in La Liga. In 100 league matches for the club, he scored 39 goals and registered 22 assists, although it’s worth noting he also chalked up 26 yellow cards.
Nolito made his international debut in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Germany in November 2014, but has only established himself in the starting XI over the last few months. The new City man scored his first international goals with a brace in the 3-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in May, and registered a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win against Turkey in Euro 2016. He has made 13 international appearances, scoring five goals and providing four assists.
The Prospects
Having worked with Guardiola, albeit briefly at Barcelona, Nolito arrives in Manchester as a player who is familiar with the former Bayern Munich manager’s tactical approach. Guardiola pulled off a similar move when he took over at the German club, signing midfielder Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona, and the importance of having players who understand your methods and can help relay them to the rest of the squad cannot be understated.
While Nolito is versatile enough to play on the left or through the middle in both 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems, it’s likely he’ll be stationed on the left wing under Guardiola. His arrival at the Etihad perhaps puts into question Raheem Sterling’s role, with David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne the favourites to take the other two attacking midfield positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation. The futures of Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas also look in doubt, particularly with more new arrivals likely over the coming weeks. Kelechi Iheanacho is another who may have to bide his time in terms of finding a starting spot in the Premier League.
Delving into the underlying statistics from last season, Nolito’s eye for goal is more than apparent. Although he was stationed on the left of Celta Vigo’s 4-2-3-1, he produced an attempt every 30.1 minutes – that’s quicker than any City midfielder in 2015/16, with Sterling’s 38.5 minutes ahead of De Bruyne (42.9) and Silva (64).
Impressively, he was also top for Celta when it came to frequency of key passes – an average of 41.2 minutes was inferior only to De Bruyne (25.9) and Silva (28.1), with Sterling further back on 57.3 minutes per chance created.
Nolito’s Fantasy potential and popularity will undoubtedly be determined by his classification across the Fantasy games. Already, this season’s Sky Sports game has listed him as a forward in a situation similar to United’s Anthony Martial. Given that Sergio Aguero will be a nailed-on option for many, though, few will be prepared to use another forward slot on his team-mate.
A price of around 9.5-10.5 could be on the cards in Fantasy Premier League, though ideally, we’d want Nolito classified as a midfielder, thus offering an attractive alternative to De Bruyne and Silva.
Looking at the fixtures, City’s schedule (SUN, sto, WHM, mun, BOU) is fairly favourable over the opening five Gameweeks, with those home fixtures against Sunderland and Bournemouth in particular looking very appealing.
Expectations are high under Guardiola and Fantasy managers are likely to earmark a place for at least one City attacker in our 15-man squads. Ultimately, Aguero and De Bruyne – who is likely to be handed the number ten role behind the Argentine as a result of Nolito’s arrival – look the men most likely to earn our attention, though there’s no doubt the Spaniard has the potential to barge his way into consideration.
For now, many will rely on the security of Aguero and/or De Bruyne as the preferred City options, allowing Nolito time to settle in his new surrounds and assessing his impact in Guardiola’s first season at the City helm.
