Manchester City strike gold by selling one of their ‘top prospects’

In the last few seasons of their domestic dominance, Manchester City They had some Premier League legends. Some of them are still playing today, such as Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker. As they grow older now, there is no doubt about their importance Pep Guardiola side.

Going back to the City side of the 2000s, the likes of Vincent Kompany and David Silva were crucial to the East Manchester club’s dominance. Silva is Fourth on the list For the club’s all-time top appearance makers, with a total of 436.

However, perhaps the best City legend of the modern era is Sergio Aguero.

Aguero’s career with City

Argentine striker Aguero moved to Etihad Stadium in July 2011, coming from Spanish giant Atletico Madrid. he It cost the citizens £38 millionjoining on a five-year deal. It is fair to say that the striker was worth the money City paid him.

in 390 games For the club in all competitions, the prolific goalscorer scored 260 goals and provided 64 assists, making him the club’s record goalscorer.

He had great success in his first season, scoring 23 Premier League goals and proceeded to score 20 or more Premier League goals in five seasons.

Given the fact that he has scored 20 goals in six of his nine Premier League seasons, it may not be surprising to learn that he is Part of the Premier League 100 Cluba group of the best scorers in the history of the department.

He ranks fifth on the list with 184 goals, the best of which was arguably his famous goal against Queens Park Rangers as City won the league in 2011/12.

Aguero left the club in 2021 as a Citizens legend, with five Premier League titles to his name. He moved to Barcelona but unfortunately He was retiring After only a few months of being at the club due to a heart condition.

When the striker left City. Guardiola famously said “We can’t replace him,” although it’s fair to say Erling Haaland hasn’t done a bad job so far. However, before Haaland, the club should have already had a replacement waiting in the wings.

Aguero’s replacement at City

Things did not go according to plan Gabriel Jesus At Etihad Stadium. he At a cost of 27 million pounds sterling From Brazilian club Palmeiras, he signed in August 2016. When he joined, City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: The striker is one of the ‘most exciting young prospects’ in the world:

“We are delighted that Gabriel has chosen to join us. He is one of the most exciting young players in world football and plays the game in an amazing way. We are looking forward to him making a huge impact at Manchester City in January.”

His record for nationals is by no means bad. He spent six seasons at the club, scoring 95 goals and making 45 assists In 236 matches For the club. However, despite his respectable record, the striker may have lived in Aguero’s shadow during his time at the club.

This was not due to a lack of support from Guardiola; Describing it as “The best striker in the world” at one point, suggesting he believes he could be Aguero’s heir.

Jesus’ Premier League record with the Citizens in the Championship is somewhat disappointing. Over the course of six seasons at the club, he managed to score 58 times and provide 31 assists. In 159 matches. His best season came in 2019/20, where he scored 14 goals in 34 matches.

His combination form in the famous Sky Blue shirt led to a big decision for the Nationals. In 2022, they benefited from a striker who was praised by the club’s senior officials. Arsenal spent £45m Accordingly, he linked up with Mikel Arteta, his former coach at City. It was a remarkable feat of City to make £18m profit from him, given his contribution to the club.

Just as he did at City, the Brazilian has been a bit of a disappointment for the Gunners. He has 25 goals and 17 assists In 91 matchesAlthough he did score a hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night and scored two more goals against the Eagles in the league on Saturday.

In general, Jesus’ vocation is a bit of a mystery. He has been part of successful title-winning teams at City, but his contributions have always left a little to be desired, just as they did at Arsenal. City fans may look back on his time at the club with regret, as he did not end up becoming the next Aguero.