In recent years Manchester City have had an abundance of striking talent to use in their quest for league and cup titles. Glossing over … mistakes… such as the £19 million purchase of Roque Santa Cruz, players like Sergio Agüero and Mario Balotelli have arrived during the past six years. Some have admittedly moved on for better or for worse, but the fact of the matter is they all brought something to City. That means there’s always a certain dilemma for the City manager – whether it be Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini or Manuel Pellegrini about who to pick.
This coming season there is more of a dilemma than ever. With Sergio Agüero looking like he might finally have shaken off the niggling injury that troubled his last two campaigns, Edin Džeko becoming more consistent in a City shirt and Stevan Jovetić expected to have a much-improved season after such an injury-ravaged one last year City are spoilt for choice in the striking department. That’s before you even get to Álvaro Negredo, currently sidelined with a broken metatarsal, who had a good first season with City up until he injured his shoulder in January.
So who should City start?
Sergio Agüero seems like the obvious choice for one of the striking places. City’s record signing has been a revelation in the three years since he signed, even if his last couple of seasons haven’t quite lived up to the heights of his first. He’s yet to start this season, with Pellegrini being wary of the fact he was injured over the summer. However he has made sub appearances in both of City’s opening games, scoring after just 23 seconds against Liverpool on Monday night. If he stays fit, he’s likely to play a very big part in City’s season.
Edin Džeko has often been the bane of many-a City fan’s footballing existence. He’s always been somewhat inconsistent and regularly looks out of place, not fitting the style of play that City aim for. Despite this he’s remained at the club for three-and-a-half years and is becoming a fan favourite at The Etihad now. He gets important goal after important goal and even looks to be adapting to the way City play. He provides something different that City usually lack going forward – height and presence in the air. This was very clear towards the end of last season with Edin scoring important headed goals in the final weeks of the season to set City on their way to the title. He’s also beneficial defending set pieces due to his height in the box.
Stevan Jovetić, the forward who joined City from Fiorentina in the summer of 2013, had a much-maligned 2013-14 campaign due to a series of injuries that prevented him from getting a real run in the side. This led to the word “flop” being thrown about, but contrary to this when he did play he looked good. Many felt if he could only remain fit he would be in and around the starting eleven. This season – even in just the early weeks – has been very different. He’s started both of City’s Premier League games and looked sharp in both. Indeed, the belief from most camps that he would eventually come good is ringing true and he could be a key part of the City side in the coming months.
Álvaro Negredo quickly became a fan favourite when he signed from Sevilla just over a year ago after he scored 23 goals before the end of January. He picked up the afore-mentioned shoulder injury around this point and never really recovered, seeming to lose confidence as the goal-less weeks came and went. He injured himself in a pre-season friendly against Hearts and is due to be out until late-September but that hasn’t stopped clubs sniffing round him, reportedly including Real Madrid. City fans are hoping he returns from this injury as he did the last in order to continue to be a useful option for Manuel Pellegrini.
Agüero and Jovetić is a strike partnership that City fans eagerly waited for last season but due to regular injuries and the good form of Negredo it never happened. Two very similar – and skilled – players indeed, many feel if it came off it would be one of the best partnerships ever seen in the blue shirt. However, you risk having two players that are too similar and therefore can’t work properly.
When Agüero played with Negredo for much of the early portion of last season and it was a duo that City fans very much got used to. The Spaniard and the Argentine complimented each other well and struck up an efficient and menacing partnership. It got interrupted in the latter months of the season, with Edin Džeko playing more, as well as Stevan Jovetić. Samir Nasri even played in a more advanced role on a few occasions.
So far this season, with Agüero starting from the bench, we’ve been able to see Edin Džeko partner Jovetić upfront, against Newcastle and then Liverpool. It seems to have worked quite well so far, but it probably won’t be something that is a continuous partnership with Agüero almost guaranteed to start once fully fit.
The other top teams in the league have improved their attacks a lot over the last few weeks. Chelsea brought in Diego Costa and Cesc Fábregas whilst Arsenal have signed Alexis Sánchez. As a result of this, City need to play the right strikers, which is where the dilemma comes from. Does Agüero partner up with Jovetić in attack, skilfully taking the ball through defences? Or will Džeko be the man who joins him, providing aerial threat and defensive help as well? Only Pellegrini knows.
