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Inside Nico O'Reilly failed Chelsea January transfer as Man City learn Cole Palmer mistake

Nico O'Reilly assisted the Manchester City goals Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush scored against Bournemouth in the FA Cup to secure their spot in the semi-finals

Nico O'Reilly celebrates during a Manchester City match
Nico O'Reilly starred for Manchester City as a substitute against Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-final(Image: James Marsh/REX/Shutterstock)

The most crucial decision Manchester City made during the winter transfer window may have been denying Chelsea in their attempts to sign Nico O'Reilly.

O'Reilly, 20, was the subject of interest from the west London club in January. As reported by the Manchester Evening News at the time, however, City were unwilling to repeat the same mistake from when Cole Palmer moved to the capital 18 months earlier.

They do not have the option to buy back their academy graduate and did not even entertain a similar scenario playing out again with O'Reilly. As such, despite Chelsea being admirers of the north Manchester native, he has ultimately stayed at City.

Pep Guardiola will now be thankful that the player is still at his disposal because it is conceivable that they may not be in the FA Cup without O'Reilly. He started against Salford City in the third round, scoring his first City goal during that 8-0 win.

Then, away at Leyton Orient in the next round, O'Reilly was in the starting line-up again. After playing the best part of three-quarters of an hour, the eventual match-winner, Kevin De Bruyne, came on for him.

Plymouth Argyle were their fifth-round opponents and took the lead at the Etihad Stadium. O'Reilly, however, equalised in the first minute of first-half added-time, heading home a De Bruyne cross.

Nico O'Reilly celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates during the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Manchester City and Plymouth Argyle
Nico O'Reilly celebrates his second goal of the game in Manchester City's FA Cup tie with Plymouth

The academy graduate then turned the tie around 15 minutes from time with another header, tripling his tally of first-team goals during that match. Then, even after starting the quarter-final against Bournemouth on the bench, O'Reilly came on to assist two goals within 20 minutes of coming on.

Explaining City's decision to keep hold of O'Reilly in January alongside several other academy products, Guardiola said: "We are not able to loan or sell players right now - we have had a lot of injury problems. We need O’Reilly, [James] McAtee, [Divin] Mubama - we have a lot of games and we need them."

In the FA Cup this season, only Exeter City centre-forward Josh Magennis (six) and Peterborough United striker Ricky-Jade Jones (four) have more goals than the City starlet.

O'Reilly's two assists also only rank behind five players on three, including his team-mate Jack Grealish.

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