Sergio Gomez warns star teammate that life is “much better” at current club than Manchester City | OneFootball

One of Manchester City’s most-reported central midfield targets in recent weeks has been warned off a move to the Etihad by one of Pep Guardiola’s former players.

Officials within the Etihad Stadium are continuing to look towards the transfer market for central midfield recruits, but find themselves at a loss in the ongoing January market given the lack of options that emerge as available.

Much of the club’s interest has centred around the centre-back roles so far, while there is also strong interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush, who continues to thrive at Eintracht Frankfurt with negotiations ongoing behind-the-scenes.

And while Manchester City had been linked with Atalanta’s Ederson earlier in the window, the club had also moved swiftly to deny any level of interest in either Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi or Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes.

But now, one of the club’s Treble winners has come out and urged one of his teammates not to make the move to the Etihad Stadium, despite the commonly heard allure of working under Pep Guardiola for an all-conquering club.

Speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, Sergio Gomez spoke of his own City exit for Real Sociedad last summer, insisting that improved on-field opportunities became the driving force behind the decision to leave one of the game’s leading clubs.

“You are practically in the best club in the world, and although you know that it can be difficult to play, you see that you have possibilities, and you feel like trying,” Gómez explained, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness.

“But you want minutes and that’s why Real’s interest came at the right time. Then the Games also helped me gain confidence and the start with Real was also good, to the point that thanks to it they called me up to the national team.”

Gomez is currently starring alongside Martin Zubimendi in the existing Real Sociedad squad and Manchester City have consistently been linked with the Spain star over the last few months.

However, on the subject of Zubimendi’s future in the game, Sergio Gomez said, “He’s much better at Real Sociedad than at Manchester City. I’ve already told you, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Since the former Manchester City defender issued his comments, it has now emerged that the Etihad club’s Premier League rivals Arsenal are pursuing a deal to sign Martin Zubimendi next summer.

It has been widely reported that Emirates Stadium bosses have been working on a deal for the midfielder for a considerable time, with manager Mikel Arteta described by some reports as a ‘key driver’ behind the club’s pursuit.

That hunt to sign the player may now explain why Manchester City moved quickly to distance themselves from reports around interest in Zubimendi, which were intensifying in the lead-up to the reopening of the January window.