The question on everyone’s lips – after Manchester City completed the £11 million signing of Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez – was whether the former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund starlet would actually play for the Premier League champions in 2022/23.
It was a question Pep Guardiola was only too happy to answer.
“This one target is a young player. In the youth World Cup years ago, the best player was Phil Foden and he was the second-best player,” the Manchester City boss told Sky Sports of Gomez, before ruling out a loan move to City’s Spanish-based sister club Girona.
“He played with Spain’s U21s, young talent for Barcelona, went to Borussia Dortmund, played in good hands under Vincent Kompany.
“He’s for now (the present). He will stay with us.”
Could Leeds United really sign Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro?
One player who’s future looks less certain, with just two weeks left in the window, is Raphael Guerreiro. According to Sky Sports, Dortmund’s long-serving Portugal international was on City’s radar before Gomez signed on the dotted line.
He’s a Leeds target now, reportedly. And of all the left-backs linked with the Elland Road outfit since Junior Firpo’s latest injury, Guerreiro is by far the most intriguing. It’s not really Leeds’ style; Signing soon-to-be 29-year-old’s on big contracts. They have made the odd exception, however, when it comes to high-quality players deemed capable of making an immediate and potentially transformative impact on the first-team.
Rodrigo Moreno, Pablo Hernandez, Kiko Casilla, for instance.
And Guerreiro certainly falls into that category.
In fact, if there is one word we could use to describe the France-born wideman, it’s ‘fun’. Whether flying forward with almost reckless abandon, curling free-kicks into the top corner or scything past challenges in the final third, watching Guerreiro in full flow is a joy to behold. Like one of those explosion-filled Michael Bay movies you shouldn’t really enjoy but do, deep down. A bonafide popcorn footballer; Flawed yet thrilling in equal measure.
In less than 200 Dortmund appearances, he’s contributed 71 goals or assists. An average of one every 2.6 games.
“Guerrero is far too good to be pinned down to one position,” former Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel once said, highlighting the former Lorient star’s ability to thrive not only at full-back but further forward and in central midfield too.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, suggested that he’d have loved to work with his compatriot at Real Madrid (Bleacher Report).
Guerreiro may not be the most ‘typical’ Leeds United signing. But he could be one of the most exciting.
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