BBC Sport this week revealed that Man City and Swansea have agreed a fee of around £28 million for striker Wilfred Bony. The Ivorian is expected to complete his move sometime this week, and could turn out to be exactly the type of striker Man City need to defend their Premier League crown.
Injuries to Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko in the past month or so have meant City have been playing the majority of their matches without a recognised centre forward. And while they did win the majority of their matches over the Christmas period, performances against Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, in particular, highlighted their need for reinforcements.
Many guilt edge chances were missed in the Everton encounter, chances that strikers such as Aguero, Dzeko and Bony wouldn’t be missing regularly. Sheffield Wednesday pushed a strong City side all the way because of no end product despite the Citizens having the majority of the possession.
Although City are 14 matches unbeaten, the business end of the season approaches and with it the need for a top quality finisher increases. But with Bony’s capture and Aguero’s return to full fitness, Man City look as though this problem will be rectified especially for the crucial games against Arsenal and Chelsea coming up. Bony will be missing for at least two or three weeks of action due to participation in the African Cup of Nations, but could still have a massive impact on the title race.
Wilfred Bony has been extremely impressive since his move to Swansea in 2013. He cost the Welsh side a club record £12 million and repaid them with 25 goals in 54 Premier League games, nine of which have come this season. He was also the Premier League’s top scorer of the 2014 calendar year with 20 goals to his name. What Man City are getting from this Bony signing is a complete forward with many assets that make him a top goalscorer at this level.
Bony’s strength means he always looks a threat and a nuisance to opposing defenders. His ability to run into space and out-muscle defenders is something Man City could definitely do with to help partner Aguero. Whilst his style would suit playing upfront with someone like Aguero, he also possess tremendous finishing attributes which allow him to score very different types of goals.
This means he is able to play by himself upfront or be part of a pair. He has always been a goalscorer, demonstrated too by his Vitesse record in the Eredivsie which was 46 goals in 65 outings. Whilst the move to Manchester is certainly a step up in quality that he might not be used to, with what he has done at Swansea he will surely be able to be a hit at City.
The need for a fourth recognised striker at the club was vital, especially with Edin Dzeko either injured or misfiring so far this season. Wilfred Bony might just be the addition that Man City needed to win back-to-back Premier League titles for the first time in their history.
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