How Manchester City should resolve the Aguero/Jesus striker controversy

For the 2016-17 campaign, Sergio Aguero scores a goal once every 122 Premier League minutes, on average, which makes him the most efficient forward ranking anywhere near the top of the Golden Boot race. His 11 league goals are tied for seventh overall.

And yet Aguero is currently not even a first-choice starter for Manchester City.

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Two seasons ago, Aguero finished as the Premier League’s top scorer with 26 goals. A season ago, he finished with 24, second only to Harry Kane’s 25. But now, the 28-year-old Argentine is best described as a super sub due to the sudden impact of 19-year-old Brazilian starlet Gabriel Jesus.

Blasphemous as it may sound, Jesus deserves to start over Aguero. After last Sunday’s 2-1 win over Swansea City, Man City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that the former Palmeiras forward will keep his place in the lineup. “Everybody is a little surprised about his level,” Guardiola said in his postmatch press conference.

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A few days earlier, Guardiola compared the Sao Paolo native to a watermelon. “You have to open it and see if it’s good,” he said.

Turns out, Jesus is ripe for greatness.

“We can use him as a front man,” Guardiola said of Jesus’ versatility. “He can give a good assist with David [Silva], with Kevin [De Bruyne], especially in the second half [on Sunday]. He’s a guy in the box that has the instinct to score goals. When he played with Sergio, they played both really, really well.”

“He’s a guy who runs 90 minutes,” the manager added. “In the long ball, he’s a fighter. He’s able to win, against taller central defenders, the ball. And 19 years old, so that’s why we’re delighted.”

One guy who is obviously not delighted with Jesus’ rapid rise is Aguero.

“I have to help the team as much as I can in these three months,” Aguero said on Sunday after Jesus scored both goals for the Citizens, including the match-winner in stoppage time. “Afterward, we’ll see what the club wants to do with me.”

Indeed, Aguero’s tenure at Manchester City, and possibly in the Premier League, appears to be nearing its end. The Argentine turns 29 in June, and reading between the lines, a summer exit makes the most sense for all parties involved.

By selling Aguero, Man City could cash in on a world-class striker. For the player, a move to a big club would secure regular playing time in a season that leads into a World Cup. Sending a forward of Aguero’s quality to a Premier League foe, though, could be risky business for the Citizens.

“Sergio remains one of the most important players in our squad,” Guardiola said while clearly speaking only about the upcoming months. “And what we have to do in the next period, Sergio will be so, so important. So, he’s going to play a lot of games, he’s going to play with Gabriel, without Gabriel. He’s going to play.”

While the move to the untested new kid on the block may seem like a questionable departure from a player the ilk of Aguero, this shift is not exactly breaking plans. Guardiola is the first to point out that his front trio averages 20 years of age, though the mathematical average is closer to 21. Leroy Sane is 21, Jesus is 19 and old-man Raheem Sterling is 22. They are Manchester City’s future.

“In the next three, four, five, six years, they will be important players for the club,” Guardiola said about the attacking trio following their first Premier League outing in a 4-0 victory at West Ham United.

Jesus is ahead of schedule, and Aguero’s history is no reason to hold back the Brazilian and block his chance in the spotlight. Jesus’ growth as a player will have far greater implications on City’s future than Aguero’s proven ability to score goals when healthy.

For now and for the future, Jesus’ place is ahead of Aguero when it comes to City’s strikers. Yes, Guardiola expects his Argentine striker to step in when the Brazilian inevitably falters and fails to score goals, but the long-term vision dictates that if Jesus can do the job now, he deserves to start ahead of Aguero.

Aguero’s exit will arrive sooner rather than later. In the past, Guardiola sold the likes of Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona, so this manager is not one to hesitate in forcing a big name out the door if he believes it will benefit his team in the long run. At Bayern Munich, Guardiola pushed out the likes of Mario Gomez and Mario Mandzukic to make space for Robert Lewandowski. Guardiola has done this before, and it’s worked out more often than not.

Guardiola can’t be blamed for picking the player that is nearly a decade younger. Perhaps, a return to Atletico Madrid would make sense for Aguero, especially if the rumors of Antoine Griezmann’s summer move to Manchester United come to fruition. If Arsenal doesn’t get its act together and Alexis Sanchez wants out, a Sanchez-for-Aguero swap deal would also be an interesting proposition.

City, honestly, does not need another forward or any more attacking players in its first 11, but the versatile and energetic Sanchez would be a tough player to pass up. Still, the smarter move would be to sell Aguero and spend the money on rebuilding a defense that has seemingly passed its expiration date.

For the current season, though, Guardiola would be wise to alternate Jesus and Aguero as starters in the Premier League and look to 20-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho as the striker off the bench to join the fray late in matches or replace either South American depending on what the match calls for. The Nigerian forward displayed promise when afforded opportunities in previous seasons, and Aguero’s eventual exit should allow Iheanacho to play a bigger role in the first team.

Beyond Jesus and Iheanacho, a third striker will be needed at the Etihad, but “El Kun” is not meant to play as second choice or even third choice. Though that may be his harsh reality for the remainder of the season, he’s too good to sit on the bench next season.

“It must not be easy, I understand that,” Guardiola responded when asked about the psychology of a player of Aguero’s stature and skill level sitting on the bench while fit two matches in a row.

However, the coach proceeded to commend Jesus on his aggression in the box and in the press. Jesus attacks, especially when he’s defending. And the fact of the matter is that Jesus isn’t going anywhere, which means it is time for Aguero to start packing his bags.

As much as Guardiola can speak about buying a mysterious watermelon, Jesus is already a regular with the Brazilian national team. The teen phenom has an incredible record of five goals and three assists in the first six World Cup qualifiers, all of which Brazil won. The surge at Man City does not appear to be a short-term fluke.

In the wake of Jesus’ first Premier League goal and assist, Guardiola explained why he believed in Jesus:. “He wants to become a good player, and when that happens, it helps a lot,” the manager said. “When he has dreams, something to do in the future, in his own career and help us, that counts a lot. And Gabriel, in those terms, wants to become something in world football.”

To start his life in England, Jesus is averaging a goal every 63 minutes in the Premier League. Undoubtedly, Jesus is Man City’s future, and apparently he’s also the Citizens’ present. Logically, that means Aguero will soon be Man City’s past.