Manchester City: Guardiola interested in Lyon youngster Houssem Aouar
Pep Guardiola sees Houssem Aouar as a potential midfield replacement for David Silva at Man City. Who exactly is the 21-year-old French midfielder?
Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar has attracted the interest from teams across Europe, Premier League champions Man City being one of them. Who is this renaissance monsieur that has the attention of many?
Unless you follow Ligue 1 football, you will not really know about the young man. He has come through Olympique Lyon’s youth academy, signing with them at the age of 11 in 2009.
Working his way up the ladder he signed his first professional contract with Lyon in 2016 and made his first Ligue 1 appearance in April 2017.
He was given the number eight jersey in the 2017-2018 season, despite only having minimal game time, which belonged to Corentin Tolisso, who transferred to Bayern Munich in the same season.
Aouar is yet to make his senior debut for France but has represented his country at the under-21 level. He made three appearances for them at the Under-21 EURO 2019. His side got knocked out of the semi-finals by Spain 4-1.
He featured in both Group C victories over England and Croatia, as well as the semi-final defeat to the Spanish.
Will he be a good fit in Pep’s plans for Man City?
According to reports, Pep has kept a close eye on the French central midfielder and would ideally be a replacement for the outgoing David Silva. He [Silva] will be ending his spell at City after 10 years of service.
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At 21, Aouar has already amassed 133 appearances, provided 24 goals and 23 assists since signing his professional contract back in 2016. He has a lot of miles on the clock and this can only be a good thing at his tender age.
Guardiola’s and Houssem Aouar’s style of play goes hand in hand. He is the type of player that prefers to keep possession and take control of the game, which would suit the EPL manager.
Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Aouar as a potential midfield three seem like a dangerous pairing, with all three of them able to provide assists and goals from the centre of the park.
PSG and Juventus are also thought to be in for Houssem Aouar, and with a price tag in the region of £65m there will surely be a bidding war should either of the parties take an interest.
Aouar seems like an excellent addition to an already devastating Man City Team, but as all should know the English Premier League is a different kettle of fish and whether he can hit the ground running, would solely depend on his ability to adapt to the pace of the EPL.
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Man City and Guardiola are looking to energize the team in the summer transfer window. They would also be looking to purchase another central defender as well since they have not yet replaced Vincent Kompany.