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Revealed: The possible shirt numbers for imminent Manchester City signing Nico Gonzalez
Manchester City are on the verge of bringing in one of Europe’s best central midfield operators, but what shirt numbers could be available to Nico Gonzalez upon moving in to the Etihad Stadium on deadline day?
It has now widely been reported that after several days of relentless negotiations between all relevant parties, Manchester City and FC Porto have reached an agreement over the transfer of Nico Gonzalez to the Premier League champions.
The 23-year-old has emerged as Txiki Begiristain’s go-to option for the central midfield role during the final days of the market, having exhausted his efforts to sign the likes of Juventus’ Douglas Luiz on a loan deal for the rest of the campaign.
When it became apparent that City would not be able to finalise a move for the Brazilian without an obligation to buy from Juventus in the summer, the club deemed it necessary to invest significantly in a top-level option.
That brought the club to the attention of FC Porto, who stood firm on their €60 million release clause valuation of former Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez, before City managed to satisfy the Portuguese side with an offer reaching that fee built in a different structure.
But what shirt number could the Spaniard select upon arrival at the Etihad Stadium and completion of his Manchester City medical and media duties in the coming hours?
A range of different squad numbers are available to the La Masia academy graduate, but not his number at FC Porto – with the 16 jersey occupied by the player that will largely be competing for a place in the Manchester City squad with Gonzalez in Rodri.
The number 17 shirt was worn by Gonzalez during a loan spell with Valencia but is currently occupied at Manchester City by long-standing creative midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, while the 6 jersey worn in the Barcelona B side is held by Nathan Ake.
During the 2021/22 season, Nico Gonzalez did use the number 14 shirt with FC Barcelona – which is currently available at the Etihad Stadium and was last worn by Aymeric Laporte prior to his move to Saudi Arabia in the 2023 summer window.
That same campaign also saw the midfielder wear the number 28 for the Catalan giants, which is also currently available at Manchester City and was last worn by Jason Denayer during the 2015/16 season.
Other squad numbers such as 12, 13, 15 are all available, as well as 21, 29, and 30 in addition to a number of other higher figures in the squad.
The number 23 shirt number was retired by Manchester City in 2003 as a mark of respect to the late midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe.
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