City well set for title defence
Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri have all signed new contracts to commit themselves to Manchester City and ensure the nucleus of the team is there to stay. Edin Dzeko should be next, according to Manuel Pellegrini, and this was a performance that demonstrated why the champions see him as a considerable part of their plans.
One thing that has not come out until now: Dzeko was the first player Pellegrini rang when he took the City job last summer. Roberto Mancini had wanted City to sign Edinson Cavani and Pellegrini was asked whether he wanted the club to pursue the deal. He abandoned it immediately, telling the people above him that he thought Dzeko was the more effective striker, with a proven record in the Premier League.
At times Dzeko has had to linger on the edges more than he would have liked and last season, in a particularly listless display at home to Stoke City, it was reaching the point that he was starting to grate on the crowd’s nerves. Yet Dzeko played a key point in their title run-in and he continued where he left off against Newcastle. “For me, Edin was the best player of the game,” Pellegrini said. “He won a lot of aerial duels, he’s a very good team player. It’s not strange for me to see him play like that. He finished last season playing very well. He has grown. I’m very happy for him – and that’s why he’s renewing his contract. He has a very important duty in our team. I don’t think it’s 100% finished but, yes, he will renew his contract. He’s a very important player for us.”
Dzeko’s contribution to David Silva’s goal was the game’s outstanding moment and a clear sign the Bosnian is playing with confidence. His problem sometimes is that he can drift in and out of matches but with Dzeko looking this impressive, Agüero still devastating even when not fully fit, Stevan Jovetic bright and Álvaro Negredo to come back from injury, City certainly have the firepower to sustain a strong defence of the title. Daniel Taylor
