Why Man City must sacrifice Jovetic to keep hold of title hero

Depending on which red-top you read, it’s a tossup between Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko over which fringe striker Manuel Pellegrini sells off this summer.

But judging by the on-pitch results of the two and the reportedly accelerating interest of Inter Milan over the former, then the Chilean league winner should be in no doubt about which player gets the boot.

Having finished outside the Champions League places in Serie A for the third successive year, Inter’s owner Erick Thohir is dead-set on rebuilding the club he bought in October 2013.

Links to a host of Premier League stars have since followed, but their rumoured interest in Man City’s Montenegrin is their most ambitious yet.

Jovetic made just two top-flight starts during his debut campaign on these shores, appearing a further 11 times from the bench, so Inter’s belief that Man City won’t mind parting ways is certainly justified.

Considering the Etihad club, who are 7/4 to defend their Premier League title next season, paid £22m for Jovetic, the Nerazzurri would have to fork out a pretty penny to even begin twisting the Citizens’ arm over a deal.

But, as Dzeko played a far more important role in landing City their second league title in three years, it should be the former Fiorentina forward who is shipped out instead of the Bosnian.

Dzeko has been linked with a move from being City’s third-choice to Arsenal’s, Valencia’s or any other leading European side’s number one.

However, having scored 16 goals over the course of the Premier League season, many of which match-shaping, Pellegrini must do everything in his power to keep hold of the former Wolfsburg striker and if Jovetic has to be sacrificed to achieve that, so be it.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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