Manchester City appear to be in the advanced stages of signing Wilfried Bony from Swansea for a fee believed to be in excess of 30 million, but is he really what the Champions need and where exactly does his exit leave Swansea?
The right fit for City?
Wilfred Bony’s goal scoring record speaks for itself – no one scored more goals than the Ivorian in the last Premier League calendar year. He would be an asset to any team, but do City actually need him?
If he can strike a partnership with Aguero then they would prove to be a deadly pair, but we won’t see them together in action until at least the end of January. City’s injury hit front line need immediate reinforcements, however due to Bony’s involvement in the African Cup of Nations, it could be another month until he lines up for his new club. By this time you would expect the worst of the injury crisis to be over and Bony forced to the bench. However, he is a different type of player to the current forwards at City’s disposal and even if he is only used as an impact substitute he will clearly be a key asset.
The fact that he wont be available to play until after the African Cup of Nations shows that City are willing to invest in Bony long-term. He is also eligible to play in the Champions League, which would have also been a factor in City’s decision to try and sign him.
He also offers a physical presence up front, which City currently lack and they will be hoping that he will bully the Barcelona defence in a month’s time. Only time will tell whether Bony is a success at Manchester City and football fans will be hoping that he doesn’t befall the same fate as many other Premier League stars who have joined City in the past, only to see their careers stall.
What now for the Swans?
There is no doubt that Bony has been Swansea’s star play over the past season and a half, with his goals a key factor in their recent success. The question for them now will be can they replace them?
Batetimbi Gomis was brought in from Lyon in the summer and was expected to fill in for Bony while the latter was on international duty at the African Cup of Nations this month. It now appears that Gomis will be expected to fill the void left by Bony for the remainder of the season. Despite showing glimpses against Tranmere in the FA cup recently, Gomis has hardly set the premier League alight and may struggle to shoulder all of the goal-scoring responsibility.
Any injury to Gomis would also leave the Swans incredibly light up-front and Gary Monk will be desperate to invest a sizeable chunk of the Bony fee on a replacement. Time is on his side and he has the rest of January to find such a player. However, it is notoriously difficult to get other clubs to agree to let go of their prize assets at this time of year.
Swansea are lucky to possess a goal-scoring midfielder in Gylfi Sigurdsson and the success of their season will probably rest on his shoulders now. Another mid-table finish looks the most likely outcome for the Swans without Bony, but they will look to invest and push on next season.