Why Paulo Dybala is the ideal replacement for Sergio Agüero

Manchester City's all-time top-scorer Sergio Agüero has been in scintillating form this season, proving to be almost unplayable after his recent back-to-back hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea at the Etihad. The blue half of Manchester is already dreading the day their beloved Argentine decides to move on from his decorated career at the club.

Agüero has been often lauded by fans and pundits as one of the greatest strikers to grace the Premier League alongside illustrious names such as Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp and Wayne Rooney. It is difficult to imagine someone replicating the feats he has achieved in his eight years at Manchester City.

Perhaps, there are only a handful players who can ideally replace this season’s Premier League top goalscorer. One such name which has cropped up recently is Juventus forward Paulo Dybala.

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala has been left frustrated on the bench in recent weeks.

According to recent reports from Italy, Manchester City director of football Txixi Begiristain sent his trusted colleague and club CEO Ferran Soriano to watch Dybala in action against Lazio late last month.

The former Palermo striker has been left frustrated since the blockbuster summer arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Turin, severely hampering his game-time at the club. In 17 Serie A starts this season, Dybala has only managed to net two goals. With the Argentine’s woes continuing, we take a look at why Pep Guardiola and his backroom staff are keen on landing La Joya to Manchester.

At the end of 2017, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Agüero. It was certain that he was heading for the exit. With a young, talented and goal-hungry striker in Gabriel Jesus already on board, fans feared it might be the end of their talisman. But Agüero’s renaissance since Pep’s first season only highlighted his unmatched importance at the club. He spearheaded City to their third league title last year and clearly looks set to repeat the task this season. With Agüero in his prime years, the City hierarchy need to start discovering a suitable cover for the Argentine.

Dybala, several years ago in an interview, exhibited his “dream to play for teams like City and Barcelona”. He is surely not an Agüero-like out-and-out striker. Instead, he prefers to play alongside another striker, which in turn helps him to build play from the back, float in midfield and eventually serve the forwards. At just 25, Dybala is ever-improving and a rendezvouz with Pep Guardiola might just be the move he fantasizes about. The Catalan’s mastery in player-positioning might just turn him into one of the continent’s most feared strikers.

Dybala scored the all-important winner in a Champions League group-stage tie against City's rivals Manchester United earlier this season.

Dybala already has shown the world his brimming talent last season when he scored 22 times in 33 Serie A matches. Though underwhelming this year due to his reduced game-time, he has still managed to score a remarkable five goals in five Champions League outings.

With Agüero closing in on his teary farewell at City, Paulo Dybala seems to be the perfect heir to the legendary striker. And with fellow Argentines Pablo Zabaleta and Nicolas Otamendi proving to be great ambassadors in the last five years for the club, Manchester City’s luck just might work with the little South-American superstar.