At 29, Is Nolito What Manchester City Really Need At Present?

By Ewah Chika.

As Manchester City fans jubilate over the signing of Spanish attacker Nolito, it remains to be seen if his signing for £14 million from Celta Vigo is the right one.

The Spaniard reunites with Pep Guardiola who is the man who handed him his Barcelona debut in 2010 after joining the Barcelona B-team in 2008 . Nolito would later go on loan to Benfica in 2011 after growing frustrated with game time in Barcelona ( played only two league games in one year) before joining Celta Vigo in 2013. Though last season was his best as he scored 12 goals providing a further seven assists in 27 league games, the Spaniard ended up scoring 39 goals in 103 League
games for the club before his exit to City last month.


"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," were the words of the attacker upon signing for City last month. Nolito's main strengths are his ability to play key vital passes , dribble , long balls when under pressure and to keep the ball in order not to lose possession. The player can play in any attacking position but performs better when played in the left position of attack in a 4-3-3 formation. Considering the players (Raheem Sterling and Samir Nasri) at Manchester City who can play in that position , Nolito is miles ahead of them based on present form considering the inability of Sterling to make the right decision in the final third after beating his man and the Nasri's injury. The winger will also form a good formidable attack with the likes of David Silva and Kelvin De Bruyne in a 4-2-3-1 position with Sergio Kun Aguero in front.

One major problem with the signing of the attacker is his advanced age of 29 (to clock 30 in October) considering he has little left to offer at his age. Although certain players have only gotten better with age as the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have shown, such is rare and is unlikely to be the case with the Spanaird. Also the signing of the attacker seems like a step backwards considering Manchester City are in line with the age trimming of their squad as the likes of Pablo Zabeleta, Willy Caballero, are all expected to leave this season, while the likes of Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and Bacary Sagna are not expected to play beyond this season.

Another factor to be considered is the fact that Nolito might find it difficult to cope with the physical rigours of the English Premiership as this is distinctively different from La Liga. The attacker will find out the the speed and physicality in the Premiership might be more than he could have ever imagined. This was the case with Alvaro Negredo who had a bright start but quickly flopped soon after the new year with no provision for Christmas break .

Whatever the case may be , for now Nolito's signing is one that should not be judged until the end of the season as it is still too early for that.