Manchester City’s desire for supremacy and domination is so great that the subsequent turn over of players is becoming ridiculous. The services of Wayne Bridge, Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Nedum Onouha are no longer required. These players were inherited by Roberto Mancini but likes of Adam Johnson, James Milner and Aleksandar Kolarov, signed by Mancini, also appear to have an uncertain future at the club already.
Edin Dzeko only joined the club in January, a £27m signing from Wolfsburg, but the arrival of Sergio Aguero appeared to suggest that Dzeko’s stock had fallen, relegating him down the pecking order, amongst the bipolar talents of Mario Balotelli. Imported players often require a bedding in period to acquaint themselves with the pace and physicality of the Premier League and Dzeko made a slow start to his City career, with his first league goal belatedly arriving in the 1-0 win over Blackburn on 25th April. His other league goal secured automatic qualification for the UEFA Champion’s League in a win at Bolton, with a further two goals in the Europa League tie with Aris Thessaloniki and scoring in both ties with Notts County in the FA Cup.
Dzeko reflected on his debut season recently, commenting that; “I was sick of all the talk about the transfer, It had got to my head a little bit, But still I think I had some good games and scored some important goals. I was new in the team and it was a hard season. It’s always difficult to come to a new club midway through a hard season like that. But I know what I have done in the last six months. Now it’s my second season and I want to do better. Manchester City didn’t pay money for me because they saw me once on YouTube or something like that. They saw me scoring good goals. I haven’t forgotten how to score goals and I will show that next season.”
Despite showing flashes of the talents that saw the Bosnian plunder a club record 59 goals in 96 appearances for Wolfsburg, Dzeko appeared cumbersome and haphazard at times last term, this season we are seeing the real Edin Dzeko. Impressing in the Community Shield, he scored City’s second goal in the 3-2 defeat, following this with an excellent performance in the 4-0 rout of newcomers Swansea, again finding the back of the net. Another goal and a fine performance at Bolton on Saturday appears to have reversed Dzeko’s fortunes and the opinions of many. Where he once looked like an expensive mistake, he now looks formidable and integral to the new look, offensively minded Manchester City.
As thrilling as Sergio Aguero’s two-goal cameo against Swansea and as excellent as David Silva continues to be in the heart of midfield. it is Dzeko’s contribution that has caught the eye with its seemingly sudden and considerable impact. As the focal point of City’s attack, Dzeko provides both an outlet and a battering ram presence up front that had previously been lacking. Signs of a potential partnership with Aguero have also emerged in the limited time they have spent in tandem, making the potential loss of Carlos Tevez far more palatable than it had first appeared.
