Newcastle Signs Nico Gonzalez From Manchester City for 52 Million Pounds

Nico Gonzalez walked out at St. James' Park on Wednesday night to chants from a sold-out crowd, completing his £52 million move from Manchester City before Newcastle even took the field against West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup second round.

Newcastle won that match 3-2. But the arrival of Gonzalez was the story.

According to BBC Sport, head coach Matthias Jaissle had pursued the 24-year-old Spaniard hard and described the process as a "long fight." Jaissle said he had spoken personally with Gonzalez on multiple occasions to make clear how important the midfielder would be to his plans.

"It's always important if you're making signings like Nico that there is a commitment there," Jaissle said. "But he showed that from the beginning, from our first conversations."

Gonzalez originally arrived at Manchester City from Porto for £50 million. Pep Guardiola, City's manager at the time, called him "our mini-Rodri," a reference to Spanish international Rodri, the club's influential defensive midfielder. Gonzalez found consistent starts difficult once Rodri returned to full fitness.

Former Manchester City assistant manager Kolo Toure believes that competition, however frustrating, helped Gonzalez develop. "When you are in competition against players like Rodri, you learn a lot because you come up against them in training and you have to show the manager you are better than them," Toure said. "You learn from things they do as well and, on the ball, he learned a lot from Rodri. Without the ball he's really good because he can press, get it back and read the game really well."

Toure also offered a pointed comparison between the two players. "He has this capacity to steal the ball from opponents, which is top. He's better than Rodri at this in my opinion, but Rodri on the ball is the best in the world. Both of them have different qualities and different strengths."

Gonzalez's debut at Newcastle carries a notable footnote. His first Premier League appearance for Manchester City came against Newcastle, a 4-0 City win in which he completed 100 passes and nullified the hosts' midfield press. Newcastle's supporters spent that night trying to stop him. Wednesday, they spent it cheering for him.

Newcastle next face Millwall in the Carabao Cup third round.