Why Dzeko Is the Man City Player with Most to Prove in Final Weeks of Season

Edin Dzeko’s Manchester City career has often veered from hugely successful to underwhelming.

At the end of last season, he found his best form for the club—just reward, it felt, for the perseverance he had shown as a City player. He hadn’t been at his best in the first few months of the season, but at the turn of the year, he blossomed into a vital player, becoming the focal point of the team.

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In the final weeks, as City chased their second league title in three seasons, his goals against Crystal Palace, Everton and Aston Villa were absolutely vital in City overhauling Liverpool and winning the Premier League. Dzeko doesn’t just score goals—50 in 125 league games—he scores "heavy goals".

However, when Dzeko is struggling, it can be painful to watch. The goals dry up, he offers little in terms of work rate and doesn’t hold the ball up well enough. That’s been the story of his season, and with the arrival of Wilfried Bony, a striker in a similar mould to Dzeko, there’s a sense that a summer move could materialise.

Six goals is all he has to show for this season. For a player whose value to City has often been built on his right-place-right-time ability, that's simply not good enough.

There have been mitigating circumstances. Two periods on the sidelines through injury unsettled him, and City’s own form has hardly been good, with the accent on attack so central to their style last season having disappeared somewhat this time round. Even so, Dzeko will be unhappy with his contribution.

In what remains of this season, he needs to remind Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, and Txiki Begiristain, the sporting director, of his quality. City’s squad needs renewing this summer with younger, hungrier players in attempt to shake off the malaise that’s gripped the club this season. Very few members of the current squad are safe if a decent offer arrives.

Financial fair play rules means it’s imperative clubs balance their books. City know the harsh reality of UEFA’s sanctions better than most, having had their summer spend capped at £49 million last summer for overspending in the previous financial year. Bringing in money through player sales allows clubs to spend more, and City, it feels, want to go on a significant spending spree in June.

In a revealing interview with Sid Lowe in the Guardian, Pellegrini openly admitted that he wanted the club to sign "a crack"—a player of the highest calibre, a world-class star, the likes of which City haven’t signed during the Chilean’s time in charge.

It was a calculated comment. Pellegrini was using his interview to put pressure on the club and remind some of the fans who have grown frustrated that he has worked under restrictions his predecessors most certainly didn’t.

It’s going to be a very interesting summer at City, and if Dzeko doesn’t want to be involved in the shakeup, he needs a strong end to the season. Pellegrini values him—that much was obvious when he arrived at the club and continued to give him chances despite patchy form—but even he may now be thinking the time to move the Bosnian on is now, particularly given Bony’s arrival.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.