Manchester City Transfers: The Pros and Cons of Signing Sergio Aguero

Carlos Tevez’s desire to leave Eastlands has haunted Manchester City for close to a season; however, the proactive signing of Argentine Sergio Agüero has reassured many fans that the absence of their talismanic captain will not dent City’s title aspirations.

Agüero arrived in Manchester, England on Tuesday, 26th July to undergo a medical. Provided that the medical yields no unexpected problems, contract negotiations are likely to be a mere formality.

At present, proceedings are amicable. Roberto Mancini has publicly declared his admiration for the diminutive Argentine striker. In a recent interview he commented, “Agüero is a player that can play for Manchester City because he is young and he is a good player like Carlos. He can score a lot of goals and can play with Mario [Balotelli], with Edin [Dzeko].”

Agüero seems equally as keen to secure a deal with Manchester City. A post on his Twitter page highlights his optimism: “Just landed in Manchester to finalize the details of the offer with the City. Everything is fine! In a while I'll tell you more.”

Once he signs, however, the optimism that surrounds his arrival at Manchester City will soon turn into hope, expectation and pressure.

Although Carlos Tevez has not yet left Manchester, Agüero will be expected to fill his role and be a like-for-like replacement. Statistically, favourable comparisons can be drawn between the two. Last season Agüero matched Tevez’s goal tally, however, the want-away Manchester City skipper does have a slightly more prolific conversion rate:

Agüero:

Games – 32
Goals – 20
Assists – 2
Minutes played – 2,676
Shots on Target – 55
Shots off Target – 49

Tevez:

Games – 31
Goals – 20
Assists – 6
Minutes played – 2,532
Shots on Target – 45
Shots off Target – 41

Although these statistics show Tevez to be a slightly better player, Agüero’s youth could be used to counter suggestions that he is an inferior player. He is already playing a similar level to Teves, despite being three years his junior. Although it is not guaranteed that he will improve, it is a reasonable expectation.  

The statistics, however, must be taken with a pinch of salt. Agüero has no Premier League experience; Tevez on the other hand has spent five years plying his trade in England. Tevez was not the sensation that he is now when he first arrived at West Ham. It could take Agüero time to adapt.

Moreover, the arrival of Edin Dzeko shows that a player’s reputation and past achievements are not enough to guarantee success in the Premier League. Agüero may be good enough to deserve a place in Manchester City’s starting 11, but he will have to be consistently good to maintain his spot.

That being said, Agüero undoubtedly has many of the essential ingredients needed to be a top Premier League striker.

Agüero’s temperament is one of his most admirable features. Since the age of fifteen he has been regarded by many in Argentina as "the new Maradona." He has handled such pressure supremely well.

He also has a keen eye for goal and has the ability to score wonder-goals. This will be of particular importance to Manchester City as they currently have an abundance of misfiring strikers and midfielders in their squad, despite their recent success. In last season’s Premier League, Manchester City’s second-leading goal scorer was Mario Balotelli, who netted just six tallies. If Tevez goes, Man City needs someone who can score goals. If Tevez stays, he will have a strike partner capable of relieving him of some pressure to score.

At 5'7", Agüero’s low centre of gravity, combined with his explosive pace, mean he is able to weave quickly and effectively between players. He is excellent at finding holes in his opponent's defence and has superb ball control. He is able to both attack and hold play up with the ball at his feet.

Critics may argue that Agüero is not big enough to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League, but his physical frame is very similar to that of Tevez’s. Moreover, Chelsea’s physical centre backs were unable to stop him from scoring two goals against them in a Champions league game two seasons ago. An ardent critic could argue that one of his goals came from a set piece, but the fact of the matter is, he put in a good performance against of the best teams in the Premier League.

One thing that he does lack however his Tevez’s unrelenting work rate, and it is this that City will miss the most—if their skipper finally leaves. That is not to say that Agüero is lazy. It’s just, very few players work as hard as Tevez does on the pitch.

Furthermore, Tevez has become a player of intrinsic importance to Manchester City. When City has found themselves in bother, he has consistently won them points on his own. Manchester City’s win over Wolves earlier this past season is a prominent example of City’s over reliance upon Tevez. For most of the game Wolves were the better side, and City seemed unable to penetrate their defence until Tevez scored two second-half goals.

Agüero is expected to become equally as important to City instantaneously. Tevez did it over the course of two seasons.

Even if Agüero is unable to match Tevez’s assiduous work rate, all signs suggest he will be nothing like the burden Carlos is off the pitch.  

“He left Argentina when he was very young and he has been in Madrid for five seasons so he is already acclimatised to European football. This is a big difference with Carlos," according to Ossie Ardiles, a former World Cup winner with Argentina.

His father-in-law, Diego Maradona, backs the move, and Agüero himself seems very enthusiastic about the prospect of playing in the Premier League. His wife seems equally as keen to move to England, something which can be viewed in stark contrast to the fiasco surrounding Carlos Tevez.

The credentials are there. Agüero is a player who is good enough to play for any top European club. He has earned some success at Atletico success and it is time that he moved on with his career and won more trophies. Manchester City is as a good a club for him to move to as any, but the pressure will be on him from the moment he signs.