Transfer News:
Manchester City have snapped up Claudio Gomes, the 18-year-old French startlet from PSG and the player is currently training with his new club in the USA.
There were initial talks of the PL champions courting him in January and a deal was expected to be struck between the two parties. However, Gomes hadn’t turned 18 by then and hence City did not sign, neither announced his arrival until his recent birthday. This was a wise decision taken to remain in line with the European regulations of the minimum age of officially signing a player.
Gomes is regarded to be a top talent. He plays in the defensive midfield position and possesses bundles of energy and accurate game-awareness. He reads the opposition attacks well and is a good passer of the ball. The lad is defensively adept, at sitting in front of the backline and thwarting his adversary through his quick interceptions. He transitions the play from defence to attack with some slick passing, as he tends to release the ball instinctively and is seldom wasteful. His game-reading sense, passing technique, energy on the field and defensive stability enticed City and the Sky Blues did not waste much time in completing the deal.
It is believed that assistant coach Mikel Arteta also played a huge role in the whole process of this deal being finalized. Being a Frenchman, Arteta would surely have played his part in the negotiations and also whilst convincing the teenager to make the move out of his country.
Gomes has risen through the ranks of the PSG academy which certainly helped him in grabbing eyeballs. He has appeared for the France national team’s age-group level competitions, having represented the country in U-16, U-17, and U-18 tournaments too. In total, he has appeared 36 times for his country in these age-group tournaments, and that is a good amount of experience for an 18-year-old.
Pep Guardiola has been quite excited about the teenager’s prospects and is delighted with having him onboard. Guardiola said that Gomes has been very good in training but also remarked that the lad needs to gain more playing time. He needs minutes and hence Gomes might primarily feature for the second team.
However, Guardiola did not refrain from saying that Gomes could make his mark in the first team, similar to players like Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz.
By luring Gomes, City have somewhat strengthened their bench while also keeping an eye on the future. Players like him could be utilized in Cup matches and this will help the Catalan to manage the workload of the first-team players over the course of the season.
Stats Courtesy: Wikipedia