Trading Sergio Aguero for Antoine Griezmann is a risk Manchester City simply don't need to take
At some clubs, they would have built a statue of him by now. Others would already be planning to re-name a stand in his honour.
Yet it seems whatever Sergio Aguero does, it doesn’t seem quite enough to completely satisfy.
Not Manchester City fans, they’re not fooled. They know goalscoring gold when they see it. But even they seem to have an air of acceptance that he could leave at any time and there’s very little any of them could do about it.
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Today’s gossip links the Argentine with a swap deal involving Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.
Manchester City’s all-time top scorer’s face just doesn’t seem to fit, however hard he tries. Some would say unloved by the people who matter, though not undervalued. It’s just that his manager simply thinks there’s better out there.
You could understand why Aguero, who has continued to find the net while adapting his game under Pep Guardiola, would want away. It doesn’t need an Etihad insider to uncover that the 29-year-old is being pushed out, though he has remained stoic and his performances polished.
If this was any other manager than the Catalan, then answers would be demanded.
How can such a player so constantly be on the edge of an exit? Why would you take a risk of this magnitude when things are going so well? Essentially, judgement would be passed for trying to fix something not broken.
Imagine for a moment the uproar if Jose Mourinho was to take on a scoring legend, entering his prime and who produces so regularly. With the Blues boss, it’s not seen as an ego clash, it’s seen as calculated reasoning.
Guardiola’s ruthless past was clear long before coming to City. He showed last season why the unceremonious axing of Joe Hart – completely right despite fan protestation – wasn’t going to be his last. Objection doesn’t leave him anxious, opinion on what he does with his players is rarely recognised.
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Still, this would be a shot in the dark and to trade in a player who has 138 goals in 174 Premier League appearances alone would represent an incredible gamble.
Griezmann is undoubtedly a huge talent. A playmaker capable of dropping deep, he is similar in a lot of ways to Aguero – deceptively good in the air, but can also play on the flanks. That won’t be a vital sell to City, who have enough out wide. Questions remain if this would be a trade up, not simply a sidewards step.
The Frenchman certainly scores goals, but there can’t be too much debate that it’s easier to do so in Spain than in the Premier League.
Pep doesn’t get much wrong, but by showing Aguero the door he will be walking over thin ice.
