If you were wondering how Manchester City would replace the departed Carlos Tévez and potentially the ever more likely to stay Edin Dzeko, look no further than Andalusia, where new manager Manuel Pellegrini was coaching last year with Málaga. The Citizens have already raided one of the region’s biggest clubs, Sevilla, earlier this offseason while capturing Jesus Navas. Now England’s second place finishers may be ready to double dip, with striker Álvaro Negredo reportedly the latest subject of City’s affections.
The rumor was first reported late last week, but thanks to reports today out of Spain, we have a better idea of where the process stands. Although there’s yet to be an official bid for the 27-year-old striker, the clubs have been in touch, with Sevilla expecting a formal offer from Manchester City on Wednesday. Reports vary, but the club apparently want between $29 and $32 million for a player who notched 25 league goals last season.
As high-priced transfers go, it wouldn’t be a bad piece of business for Manchester City, who’ve seen both Tévez and Mario Balotelli move to Italy in the last seven months. That leaves their once vaunted striking corps with Dzeko and Sergio Aguero. With Pellegrini likely to play 4-4-2, City need a couple of more strikers, and that’s if they manage to retain Dzeko.
Beyond his goal scoring prowess, Negredo would be a good fit for Pellegrini’s squad. He can play a central figure when paired with Aguero, liberating the Argentine to play away from the line, while his versatility allows him to complement Dzeko, a player would be the more traditional number nine of their pairing.
His goal scoring prowess, however, shouldn’t be ignored. While Negredo is coming off his most productive year in Spain, he has been a consistent producer for the last six seasons, hitting double digits each year going back to his time with Almeria. Since moving to Sevilla in the summer of 2009, Negredo has 70 goals in 139 La Liga games, an average of 17.5 per season.
His would be a huge loss for Sevilla, but having finished ninth in Spain last year, the Rojiblancos are no longer the perennial Champions League contenders they once were. At some point they need to cash in their Negredo-level talents, and with the former Real Madrid prospect just over a month short of his 28th birthday, now is as good a time as any.
