In this week’s insider, we take a closer look at the phenomenon that is Sergio Aguero and whether his excellent early-season form is likely to translate into long-term success.
Fantasy Football (In association with Champion)
It may seem generous in the extreme, but such is the impression that Sergio Aguero has made in his short Manchester City career to date that in years to come, people might know Diego Maradona better as the father-in-law of as one of the best footballers of all time.
Obviously Aguero has a long way to go before he can be mentioned in the same breath as his worshipped compatriot, but he’s certainly taken a giant leap down the right road since arriving in England in August.
Aguero has rightly been lauded for eight goals in five games so far and accordingly, he has been selected in nearly 40 per cent of fantasy football teams. It would undoubtedly be more were in not for his prohibitive cost (£11.2 million) and the difficulty of getting him and Wayne Rooney (£12.5 million) into the same team without having to drastically budget on the other 13 members of the squad.
But surely this run can’t go on forever, can it? Andy Gray once dubiously doubted the ability of Lionel Messi to cope on a wet and windy night in Stoke, so can we have similar concerns for Aguero when the going gets a little tougher than it has been for City so far?
History suggests that Kun will be just fine. In his last four seasons with Atletico Madrid, Aguero struck 68 goals in 137 matches, as close to a goal in two matches as you could get. This came in a side in which Diego Forlan was very much the central striker and in a league where Atletico were far less prominent (they finished 7th and 9th in La Liga in the last two seasons) than City are likely to be this season.
At international level, Aguero’s record is a slightly less impressive 13 goals in 32 appearances, but with Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and the great Messi providing competition for places in a star-studded attack, Aguero’s starting place has never been certain in an environment where goals are far harder to come by.
Put simply, Aguero looks to have all the attributes to be a major star in the Premier League, and seems equipped with a better temperament than other South Americans (Juan Veron, Robinho to name two) who perished at this level. Aguero’s one for the long-term and incidentally, also our tip for captain this weekend.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: David Silva (£9.9 million). We could recommend Rooney or Aguero yet again, but it’s getting a tad repetitive at this stage and besides, most managers probably have both players in their team anyway. Just behind those two as the most impressive player so far this campaign has been David Silva, whose overall excellence has been buffeted by two goals, three assists and five bonus points in five games to date.
Mid-Range: Gabriel Agbonlahor (£6.7 million). After a miserable campaign last year, which could be attributable to Gerard Houllier’s management, Agbonlahor is back on form in this campaign with three goals, an assist and six bonus points already.
Bargain Basement: Jonny Evans (£4.5 million). With Chris Smalling ruled out for a few weeks, Nemanja Vidic still out and uncertainty surrounding Rio Ferdinand, Evans is bound to continue at the heart of the Manchester United defence. Granted, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea and Stoke away is no easy task, but he’s very, very cheap for a United player in a defence that hasn’t conceded many goals so far.
Irish Pick: Leon Best (£5.1 million). Best has nabbed three goals in six games so far this season and seems to have earned the trust of Alan Pardew after some dodgy off-field antics in the last campaign. The Blackburn defence have been conceding an average of two goals a season so far, so Best will fancy his chances of rattling the onion sack at St. James’ Park.
Captain’s Pick: Sergio Aguero (£11.2 million). With six goals in his last three games and eight in his last five, the man simply can’t stop scoring and he will have the Everton defence running scared at the Etihad this weekend. Interestingly, he has been taken off in every one of his four starts for City, but has always had the job done by the time left the pitch.
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