Nico Gonzalez has made his position clear. The Manchester City midfielder says he is happy at the club and does not want to leave, even as the squad’s midfield picture keeps shifting around him. He also said no player has a guaranteed position for all matches, which is probably the most honest line in the whole discussion.

Gonzalez makes his case

"I’m happy here. I don’t want to leave and I think the club wants me to stay. I haven’t seen anything but I’m happy here," Gonzalez told manchestereveningnews.co.uk. He also added: "I don’t think any player has the position guaranteed for all the matches. Everyone has to work hard."

That is a fairly clear public stance, and it fits the way he has been used. Gonzalez played 41 times in all competitions last season, and his 8.7 rating in the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton suggests there is still a role for him when he is trusted in bigger games.

City’s midfield rebuild

The broader picture is bigger than one player. City are making progress on Ayyoub Bouaddi and plan to sign him regardless of departures, while Tijjani Reijnders signed from AC Milan for an initial £46.3m but has made only 3 appearances so far this season.

Rodri is into the final year of his contract at the Etihad and has attracted interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, while City’s club-record signing Elliot Anderson cost £116m from Nottingham Forest. That is a heavy amount of midfield business even before you get to the detail around Jérémy Doku, who signed a new contract until 2031.

There is still some disagreement over how certain parts of that picture should be read. One source presents Doku’s deal as already signed, while another frames it as confirmation pending. The same goes for Reijnders, who has been linked with a move away in one report and treated as someone City would only move on under certain conditions in another.

For Gonzalez, though, the point is simpler. He has said he wants to stay, he has not seen anything suggesting otherwise, and City are still building a midfield that may yet include more movement before the window is done.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →