Limp Champions League show spells end for Manchester City man

The reaction that followed news of Sergio Aguero’s latest injury served as a sign of just how far Edin Dzeko’s stock has fallen at the Etihad and why a move away from the Premier League appears imminent.

After all, while the Argentine has notched up 15 goals in 17 top-flight appearances for the Blues, Manuel Pellegrini can still call on both the Bosnian and Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo to provide the firepower to take City to the title, with the Manchester club 15/8 to win the league at Ladbrokes.

However though the former Sevilla man has enjoyed a solid debut season at Eastlands with 23 goals in 40 games, Dzeko has struggled to hit the same heights.

Game time may have been limited for the Bosnian, who has scored seven times in the top flight this season, but with the one-time Wolfsburg goal machine without a strike to his name since late January, following an extend spell on the bench, the time for a change looks to be drawing near.

In the past Dzeko has been accused of being something of a flat-track bully and his record this term certainly backs that assertion up, with the seven goals he scored prior to that strike against Spurs coming against Cardiff, Blackburn, Newcastle, West Ham and Crystal Palace.

He may not necessarily be a striker for the big occasion, but that hasn’t stopped clubs from across Europe showing interest, with Inter Milan among those previously linked with a move for the 27-year-old.

A series of near misses and penalty shouts against Barcelona hardly helped his cause, though it appears that the writing was on the wall well before his second-half appearance at the Nou Camp.

When City narrowly beat Stoke earlier this month, Dzeko was back among the headlines – though this time for all the wrong reasons – as a horror miss regarded as one of the worst in the history of the division saw him made the butt of the jokes among football fans the world over.

There will be plenty of clubs interested in landing the forward though, who boasts a solid goalscoring record and a particularly impressive history in the Bundesliga.

A return to big-spending Wolfsburg could be one option, but for a Bosnian boy who idolised Andrei Shevchenko as a youngster, AC Milan remains his dream destination.

Either way, while City will do everything to hold on to Aguero this summer, the route may be clear for Dzeko to duck out.

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

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