Manchester City need to score more goals…

Trust me, that is a statement that I never imagined I would make - not with Pep Guardiola at the helm.

But you cannot avoid the facts.

Whilst they currently sit 6 points off Tottenham and Liverpool in a measly 11th place, it’s clear that their biggest problem is within the goalscoring department.

To put things into perspective, Manchester City (15) have scored just 4 goals more than Fulham (11), who find themselves teetering above the relegation zone in 17th - though it is worth pointing out that The Citizens have a game in hand.

It is also worth bearing in mind that this statistic could be rendered irrelevant should Manchester City thrash Fulham, which the majority of fans are expecting.

Nevertheless, at the same stage last season with 9 games played, Manchester City had already racked up a league leading 29 goals.

It was a similar performance during the 2018/19 season where they underlined their attacking threat with 26 goals at the end of matchweek 9.

So what’s changed?

Well, a couple of things.

Firstly, they no longer have the creative genius that is David Silva in their side - after he ended his 10 year stay with the Citizens and returned to La Liga - now plying his trade for an ambitious and overachieving Real Sociedad side that currently find themselves at the top of the division.

Whilst the loss of a creative presence such as Silva would be a valid excuse for most sides, it isn’t the case for a club like City, who have quality depth within their ranks.

Ironically, chance creation isn't actually the issue at hand here, either.

It’s putting those chances away that has been the major problem in this City side this season.

What about Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres?

Whilst an injury ridden spell at the beginning of the season hindered his chances to make up for the absence of Aguero, Jesus made a goalscoring Premier League return against fellow title challengers; Liverpool - after scoring in the Champions League just 5 days earlier.

With 3 attacking returns in 4 league appearances, he’s proved he’s a solid option.

But he is not the clinical, consistent and aggressive striker that Sergio Aguero is - in fairness there’s not many who are.

As for Ferran Torres, whilst he was brought in originally as a winger, he has proved to be a threat as a centre-forward.

His Champions League form echoes this statement, with 2 of his 3 goals occurring when he was deployed centrally.

Whilst he offers threat as a centre-forward, he is a traditional winger and his mesmerising hat-trick as a right-winger against Germany in the Nations League emphasised this further.

Pep obviously feels the same and has only deployed him as a centre-forward just once out of his 7 appearances.

So who can fill Aguero’s shoes?

With Aguero struggling to stay fit this season and now into his thirties, here are some like-for-like options that Manchester City could look to replace him with.

The replacements range from higher budget options, all the way to lower budget picks.

We’ll start with some high budget picks and work down from there.

Lautaro Martinez | 23 | Inter Milan

Market Value: £63m (As per TransferMarkt)

Whilst his teammate Romelu Lukaku has stolen the show this season, it’s still been a good start for Lautaro - who is on track to better his 14 Serie A goals from 35 appearances, which he achieved last season.

Lautaro has proved himself as an out-and-out centre forward since he burst onto the scene with Argentinian outfit Racing Club in 2016, contributing 10 attacking returns in 23 appearances.

At 23-years-old, Martinez has no ceiling and under the tutelage of an attacking football advocate like Pep Guardiola, Martinez could be the answer to City’s goalscoring troubles.

Notable Option(s):

Harry Kane | 27 | Tottenham Hotspur |

Luka Jovic | 22 | Real Madrid |

Danny Ings | 28 | Southampton

Market Value: £18m (As per TransferMarkt)

Just a few seasons ago, many wrote off Danny Ings and rightly so after 3 lacklustre years at Liverpool.

Fast-forward to 2020 though and he has demonstrated that he could well be an elite striker.

A superb showing for an ever-improving Southampton side during the 19/20 season helped his case, as he fired in 22 goals in 38 appearances to give Jamie Vardy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang some fierce competition for the Golden Boot.

The 28-year-old has just recovered from a knee injury that kept him out for the last few games, so his already impressive start to the season, with 5 goals and 2 assists in 7 games, could be even better had he not been out.

He has a similar style to Aguero in the fact that he is an out-and-out striker who combines an aggressive, and instinctive style with flair and technical ability in abundance.

The 28-year-old has developed nicely during his time at Southampton and has proved he can operate in a more pressing and tactical set-up under an astute manager like Hasenhuttl.

In my opinion, now in his prime years, Danny Ings would fit perfectly into the Citizens’ set up and his aggressive style would make the transition from Aguero almost seamless.

Notable Option: Giovanni Simeone | 25 | Cagliari |

Chimy Avila | 26 | Osasuna

Market Value: £9m (As per TransferMarkt)

Although he has recently revealed he was close to a move to Barcelona, he is perhaps one of the lesser known suggestions in this list.

Chimy Avila is like-for-like in terms of Aguero’s physical play-style.

Whilst his goalscoring history is not as prominent as the aforementioned options, by no means should he be discarded as Aguero’s potential successor.

In the past three seasons, the 26-year-old Argentinian - who is capable of striking the ball with both feet - has amassed a consistent number of attacking returns.

Avila, who can operate anywhere across the front-line, had already shown glimpses of quality during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season, amassing around 10-12 attacking returns each season.

However, it’s his astonishing form whilst playing for Osasuna that has firmly put him on the radar.

The Argentinian totalled 12 attacking returns in 20 appearances in the 2019/20 La Liga campaign, chipping in with an impressive 9 goals and 3 assists.

Here is the rather large caveat though.

Chimy Avila hasn’t played a single game for Osasuna this season due to a cruciate ligament rupture that also hindered him the season before.

Whilst he isn’t due back until March 2021, he’s a player that can offer a lot going forward and if kept fit, could do some serious damage in the Premier League.

With all due respect to his current and previous clubs, Avila has not had the opportunity to ply his trade alongside the so-called superstars of the game.

With the amount of chances that City create, Pep and Co. could unlock the unspent potential in Chimy Avila and give him the spotlight to evolve into a goalscoring machine.

His current market value is around £9m, so if he can get over his cruciate ligament struggles, he could be a super low risk option to potentially fill the boots of fellow countryman, Sergio Aguero.

Notable Option: Josef Martinez | 27 | Atlanta United |

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How Manchester City can replace Sergio Aguero