Micah Richards praises ‘standout’ Man City star who Chelsea failed to sign in January

Chelsea tried to sign a Manchester City star in January for £40million – and that transfer failure may come back to bite them.

City have booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the seventh consecutive season after coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Sunday

Pep Guardiola’s side looked to be heading out after Erling Haaland had a penalty saved and Evanilson gave the Cherries a half-time lead at the Vitality stadium.

But the Citizens were unplayable after the break, with goals from Haaland and Omar Marmoush getting the win, though there were concerning scenes as the Norway striker hobbled off injured.

The player who masterminded the comeback was not one of the usual suspects like Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden but 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly who was subbed on at half-time for Abdukodir Khusanov.

Operating as a makeshift left-back, the England U20 midfielder tore apart Bournemouth’s defence and set up both goals, meaning he now has three goals and two assists in just four FA Cup games.

‘We’ve talked about him before haven’t we, he scored a couple against Plymouth,’ City icon Micah Richards said of O’Reilly on The Rest is Football podcast.

‘He just exploited that space. I think Bournemouth, I wouldn’t say they dropped off but Man City pushed them back because you know Bournemouth like to play high press.

‘But he just saw the gaps and then it was the quality of his pass, the timing.

‘I heard Chelsea wanted to buy him for £40million. I heard it on the radio coming back, that’s the first time I’ve heard that.

‘But he was a real standout today. When he came on he changed the game.’

O’Reilly made his senior debut in the Community Shield win at the start of the season and has only played 21 minutes in the Premier League, with Guardiola restricting his involvement to the cup competitions.

But it is clear he is a highly-rated talent as Chelsea did indeed make an approach for the youngster in January which was rejected as City wanted to insert a buy-back clause in the deal, wary after losing Cole Palmer to the Blues in 2023.

City will take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals and given his form in the competition so far, it seems likely that O’Reilly will make an appearance at Wembley.

‘The ball he put in for Haaland was just perfection wasn’t it?’ Premier League legend Alan Shearer added.

‘It was like you, “there you go, it’s on a plate for you, you can’t miss that”, and he didn’t. It was a nightmare for the defenders but just perfection for the centre-forward Haaland.’

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