Manchester City have tied down academy graduate Nico O'Reilly with a new contract and new number. Softfootball gathered that City rejected two bids from Bayer Leverkusen for the versatile midfielder.
City were facing a hard time keeping the starlet who attracted lots of clubs after a stellar outing last season. Pep had selected Nico for the pre-season tour to the United States before last season where he scored his first senior goal against Barcelona days after making his debut against Celtic.
His excellent performance in preseason handed him a constant featuring his match day squads for last season as he was deployed often times as a left back for the Cityzens. He played vital roles in Citys run to the final of the FA Cup last season most visibly a 5 star performance against Bournemouth in the quarter finals.
OReilly had been brought on as a left back at half time when City were trailing by a lone goal. The Englishman would be the provider for the two City goals as he assisted both Haaland and Marmoush in a 2-1 turn around win.
Before the star performance at Bournemouth, OReilly had made his debut in the FA Community Shield triumph against city rivals Manchester United.
The former U-18s captain who made 21 appearances across a campaign that also included the FIFA Club World Cup this summer has now been handed the jersey number 33 having worn number 75 last season.
The U21 international scored 5 goals across board last season will hope to add more numbers to the tally next season. Affirming the change in number, City announced on their official website .
They wrote:
Citys number 33 has seen some important figures adorn it as former captain, Vincent Kompany had worn it in his early days at the club. Gabriel Jesus and Scott Carson are among the other players to have played with the jersey number.