Why Mancini Sees Aguero as Tevez's Perfect Replacement

A day after Manchester City reportedly agreed a fee with Carlos Tevez's former club Corinthians to see the Argentine return to South America, manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed that a bid for Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero is imminent.

A fee for Tevez's Argentina teammate is unknown but is likely to take up much of the money that City will receive from the sale of last season's top scorer. The City captain is set to be sold for around £40m while Aguero could fetch as much as £35m.

This article will investigate why Mancini is seemingly so certain that the 23-year-old is the right man to replace his fellow countryman, and how his signing and Tevez's departure could affect the playing system at Eastlands.

Tevez vs Aguero
With the potential one in, one out swing that could be set to occur at the Etihad Stadium, Man City could lose a 20 goal a season striker and replace him with another. Both Tevez and Aguero hit that mark for their respective clubs last term from an almost identical number of games, with the latter starting one more with 31.

In some senses the two players are very similar, not only in their goalscoring tendencies, but also in stature with both filling a fairly diminutive frame. This fact can be attributed to reasonably poor scores in terms of aerial success, though Madrid's man just tops his compatriot's 14% with 20%.

Another area in which the two are comparable is in the players' willingness to run at defenders, with Aguero's figure of 2.2 successful dribbles per game again just bettering Tevez's 2.

However, a department in which City could be at a loss if the sale of the 27-year-old goes ahead lays in his ability to assist his teammates. Tevez managed 6 assists last term compared to Aguero's meagre figure of 2 and also made more key passes with 1.7 to 1.2.

City's want-away also had a markedly higher pass accuracy with 83% to 77% and made more of a defensive contribution, completing a 1.8 tackles and interceptions combined in comparison to Aguero's 1.4.

Possible Formations
Roberto Mancini has already alluded to the fact that he feels Aguero could play alongside both Balotelli and Dzeko in a more familiar 4-4-2 formation than the fans have been used to at Eastlands. Tevez was often deployed as a lone striker and a marriage with Balotelli and Dzeko in particular proved difficult for the Italian manager to master.

However, if Mancini did want to stick with his preferred system of three attacking influences behind a lone striker next season, he could choose to play all three of his front men at the same time. Aguero is adept at filling in just behind the striker and has done so to great affect on the international scene with Argentina. Balotelli is also fairly versatile in attack having been deployed on the wing for both Inter and City in the past, while Dzeko is very much a traditional target man.

Balotelli or Dzeko?
Assuming that Aguero would be seen as the main goalscorer in a strike partnership next season were he to join, one could somewhat forgive Edin Dzeko's disappointing tally of just 2 goals from 8 league starts last season. Balotelli's strike rate was far greater having netted 6 in 12 league starts but his apparent inability to set-up goals for teammates could be detrimental to his chances of securing a starting berth.

Despite only making 2 assists, as many as Aguero, Dzeko's figure came from just 8 starts, showing that his capability to create goalscoring chances is better than his young Italian teammate, which could prove vital were Aguero to sign.

The fact that the 23-year-old is similar in height to Tevez could also play into the Bosnian's hands with Dzeko, known for his prowess in the air, having won 42% of his aerial duels last season, the highest of the four.

The fact that Dzeko isn't needed for his movement is counter-balanced by Aguero's impressive dribbling figures, meaning the former Wolfsburg's total of 0.7 would be less relevant.

However, Balotelli will be hoping that his pass accuracy of 77%, which exceeds Dzeko's reasonably average 70%, will mean that he has a chance. This coupled with his superior defensive contribution to Dzeko last season leaves Mancini with a tricky choice on his hands if he does get his man, though one suggests that it might not be the end of the City spending spree!