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It is taking time for Nico Gonzalez to fully get to grips with a new role at Manchester City but there is time for him to get there.
There is an irony to the one thing that Pep Guardiola wants from Nico Gonzalez being something that he was doing on a reasonably regular basis when he played further up the pitch.
Guardiola has been demanding a little more ambition from Gonzalez's passing as he gets used to the No. 6 role at Manchester City. The Catalan is trying to coach a little more caution out of the former Barcelona midfielder's game.
Gonzalez has enjoyed success in the Rodri role this season, but as good as he has been in disrupting attacks - a point Guardiola made forcefully after the draw in Monaco - he can still sometimes be a little too safe in possession.
Guardiola's on-pitch coaching clinic with the Spaniard after the Carabao Cup win at Huddersfield focused on that, and it was noticeable they had a long chat just before the second half started as well. Gonzalez found some good line-breaking passes after the break and Guardiola is delighted that the 23-year-old is so willing to listen. It wasn't the first time they had had a prolonged tactical discussion, after done the same against Al-Ain in the Club World Cup.
"Nico’s a guy who listens a lot and wants to improve and asks me what to do in different circumstances," Guardiola said. "When you are on the pitch, it's better because you are there and can explain better.
"Nico is a young lad and he is incredibly coachable. When players want to be coachable, it's a gift for all the managers.
"There were others who it is more difficult to tell them. These guys must be helped until the end and he has to realise, especially in the second half, as much as we were able to contact with him and make control forward and break the lines, every time was a chance.
"Three times in the second half we broke the lines with Phil [Foden], Rico [Lewis] and a winger arrived it was a chance. He has to use more and more. He has this potential to do it. In the next games, in his process he will get it."
Gonzalez has had good moments and bad since his £50million move from Porto in January, and it's probably fair to say that Guardiola's description of him as a "mini-Rodri" after one eye-catching display against Newcastle wasn't helpful.
Another line in that press conference was probably more interesting, when Guardiola was asked about Gonzalez's best position and focused on his attributes in the final third.
“I think he can play in both positions (six and eight); in Barcelona, he played more as a number eight – that means he’s a guy who arrives into the box, the ability to dribble," said Guardiola.
"But when he arrived, we met each other, you forget about it to play in that position and you have to mentally prepare to play there in front of the central defenders."
According to Transfermarkt, Gonzalez has played only 48 career games as a No. 6. Seventeen of them were for City, and 15 were for Barcelona B, so in two-and-a-half seasons for Barca's first team and for Porto, he was primarily used as a No. 8.
That was particularly the case in Porto, where his return of nine goals and nine assists in 68 games shows his strengths closer to the opposition's penalty area. Now, he is being asked to fulfil a more defensive-minded role, while finding line-breaking passes from a deeper position.
That is why Guardiola is regularly talking to Gonzalez during games. It is particularly noticeable when he plays a pass Guardiola isn't happy with.
But if the La Masia graduate needs inspiration to adapt, he will find it in Rodri, who arrived as No. 6 but still took some time to fully master the demands of playing the role for Guardiola. Now, he is the best in the world in that position.
Gonzalez might never reach that level, but there is certainly plenty of improvement to come.
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