Are we looking to sign a striker?

[Craig]

Bayern have only Lewandowski, then players who can fill in i.e Muller & Coman

Barca have only Suarez, then players who can fill in i.e Messi & Munir

Real Madrid have only Benzema, then players who can fill in i.e Jese & Ronaldo

I agree to a point mate but look how many goals those wide players or someone like Muller who plays just behind score. We only have De Bruyne who we can rely on for a decent amount and then we'll lose even more goals from midfield assuming Yaya goes.

 

[big phil]

I gather Mario is at a bit of a loose end......

 

[BlueKlaude]

Kelechi and Kun isn't enough for 60+ games a season, sadly.

 

[SPIDERBOY]

I gather Mario is at a bit of a loose end......

On his way back to the dippers according to tuttomercatoweb.

 

[Marvin]

I agree to a point mate but look how many goals those wide players or someone like Muller who plays just behind score. We only have De Bruyne who we can rely on for a decent amount and then we'll lose even more goals from midfield assuming Yaya goes.

Barcelona scored 90 league goals from their front 3 forwards with Neymar and Messi weighing in 50 between them and Suarez got 40. I would like to see City's two wide men brought inside so that we are not so reliant on Aguero getting injured. Sterling could do that. He really is a 2nd striker not a winger, whereas Navas is perfectly suited to the role he has but would struggle if played inside?

Not many people have linked City with forwards, but I think it's quite likely that we will strengthen the forward line. I wonder whether Aguero will stay. He's still scoring at an absolutely incredible rate but I get the impression he isn't as quick as he was. But that could be viewed as a good thing. Means his game will be less effected as he gets older

 

[blueparrot]

I agree to a point mate but look how many goals those wide players or someone like Muller who plays just behind score. We only have De Bruyne who we can rely on for a decent amount and then we'll lose even more goals from midfield assuming Yaya goes.

So it is a wide scoring player we need, Sterling will get more goals playing in the right system . What we don't need is a centre forward that might only play 10 games, because if he's happy with so few games he probably isn't good enough anyway. Yaya hasn't got many this year anyway.
I could see Aguero / Iheanacho with 40 plus goals and Sterling De Bruyne and the other wide forward getting another 35-40 between them. That's without any goals the rest of our midfielders score.

 

[hartshairgel]

If we can Griezmann would fit best into Pep's style as can play wide and up top but doubt Athletico would be willing to sell. I can also see a bid for Morata and that may mean Aguero moves out wide as we know Pep likes to play around with positions and Kun does like to drift. One things for sure Kun will have to be more disciplined in his positional play under Pep as staying and playing in your position is one of the most important parts of Pep's philosophy until you get close to goal when there's more freedom.

 

[George Hannah]

Kelechi and Kun isn't enough for 60+ games a season, sadly.

it's worth remembering that Manuel was adamant that Iheanacho wasn't a striker!

 

[Gundogan's Moustache]

Lukaku has told Everton he wants to leave , but for his price and his style I'm not sure it'll be worthwhile for us

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

There is a tendency in modern football to play 1 striker and 2 very attacking midfielders who play a role somewhere in between an old school winger and a 2nd striker. It’s a front 3 in attack and a 5 man midfield in defence. Both Barca and Real Madrid play that system. When the main striker is out they just shuffle the pack so a replacement player comes in somewhere in the front 3, each player being capable of each role.

Looking at our squad we have Aguero so the main striker is sorted we then have various players that can make up the 3 however they all have their drawbacks namely:
Bony – not mobile enough to play wide, needs a significant upturn in form to play central.
Kelechi – could play anywhere in a front 3, needs to work on his right foot.
KDB – great player but prefers a central role. Not a striker.
Silva – as per KDB, prefers to drift centrally and get on the ball.
Sterling – needs to hit form / score more goals, could be ideal for a wide spot.
Navas – good pace / discipline and a natural right winger – final ball is poor, not a striker.
Nasri – prefers to drift around, not a striker and poor discipline for a midfielder.

So in short any 2 you pick alongside Aguero brings some sort of compromise when you compare them to the best in the game i.e. the likes of Bale or Neymar. So it would not surprise me to see 1 or 2 of these players leave and a more adaptable striker / wide attacker brought in.