Will Aouar use Manchester City clash to boost budding reputation?
Back in September 2018, Lyon visited the Etihad Stadium in their Champions League group stage meeting with Manchester City. Many expected City to come away as easy victors on home turf, but Lyon had other ideas. First half goals from Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir ultimately condoned City to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their French counterparts in an early Champions League upset.
However, Lyon's victory was perhaps best remembered as the making of Tanguy Ndombele. The France midfielder dominated in Manchester and his reputation soared as a result, culminating in a big money move to Tottenham. While Ndombele's career has stuttered on the back of his high profile switch to Spurs, another promising Lyon youngster will be out to make the most of his time in the spotlight to boost his reputation.
That said, Houssem Aouar is already considered one of the finest young midfielders in Europe and has, in fact, been linked with a move to Saturday's opponents. City have wasted no time in boosting their winger and centre-back options, bringing in Ferran Torres and Nathan Ake from Valencia and Bournemouth, respectively, but it's in central midfield where they can still benefit from another new addition.
David Silva will depart at the end of City's Champions League journey. Phil Foden is already waiting in the wings to succeed the Spaniard, but considering Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan are approaching 30, City could do worse than bring in Aouar sooner rather than later.
He's the ideal midfielder to suit City's style under Pep Guardiola, with the Frenchman routinely picking up possession from deep and driving forward with the ball at his feet. 4.5 successful dribbles per 90 is one of the better returns in the Champions League this season, while his WhoScored rating (7.65) is the 16th best in the competition this term. Three assists ranks highly from a modest 1.3 key passes per 90, with this figure low due to the fact that he isn't routinely tasked with providing the creative thrust from deep for the Ligue 1 outfit.
There is the additional versatility with which Aouar plays his Lyon role in midfield, with the 22-year-old able to play deep and help protect the defence, or operate in a more advanced position to aid OL in the final third. It's these traits, and more, that make Aouar such a tempting proposition for any high profile side looking to add a new midfielder to the ranks and City eyeing up a move for the Lyon star shouldn't come as too much of a shock as he fits the bill to fill to Silva void on the left of their midfield three.
In addition, Aouar would benefit from learning from one of the best in business in De Bruyne in the Belgian's peak years, but on Saturday night; these two will face off to control the midfield. If Aouar can dominate in the same way Ndombele managed to at the Etihad almost two years ago then City are unlikely to pass up the chance to land the Lyon star this summer.
With two years still to run on his current Lyon deal, the French side are under no pressure to sell one of their prized assets, but are aware they may have to cash in before too long and while it would take a hefty bid to convince Lyon to sell, Aouar is a player who'd be a perfect fit for City and one who could help them dominate both domestically and continentally in years to come. He'll be handed the perfect chance to prove his qualities once more in tonight's last quarter-final clash.
