Manchester City youngster Aleix Garcia is the subject of a comparison between Pep Guardiola and Manchester United manager José Mourinho made by El Confidencial on Tuesday.
‘Where you put Pogba, I’ll bring some Aleix García’ is the headline of an article saying Manchester City’s success doesn’t depend on the stars, but on the Catalan manager.
El Confidencial seem delighted that the 19-year-old got his first minutes in the Premier League and managed an interview with David Martínez, who was his manager at the youth levels of Villareal.
“He read the game and saw football with an unusual clarity for his age. He was always more attentive to make a good pass than to score a goal. This was a detail of his collective perception of football.
“At this stage of training, he played closer to the striker, second striker, assisting, participating in the game. But over the years has been pulling back his position because he has ability to interact in different lines of play.”
Martínez thinks Guardiola will have a big influence on the player’s development, but says Garcia would be good enough to breakthrough to the first team even without the manager: “It delights me to know he’s doing well, especially on a personal level. On a professional level he will learn a lot with Guardiola.
“Of course, I sincerely believe that if Pep didn’t sign for City, Aleix would also debut in the Premier by natural conditions, although his level of participation would be much lower. I’m waiting to see how he evolves.”
The midfielder signed for Manchester City from Villarreal B in 2015 for €2m.
