Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony looks set to move on in the near future
Ivory Coast international striker Wilfried Bony is a player that is wasted sitting on the bench at City or even sitting in the stands more recently.
The 27-year-old was always going to find it difficult to nail down a regular first-team spot at City, mainly due to the presence of the outstanding Sergio Aguero in the City attack.
Bony is not only behind Aguero in the striking pecking order, but also Nigerian youngster Kelechi Iheanacho who has made such a big impression at the club in the last year.
It now seems that Bony is surplus to requirements at City and according to Sky Sports West Ham are interested in taking him off City’s hands.
A move to City was always the wrong one
Bony was at Swansea for a season-and-a-half before moving to City in the January transfer window of 2015 for a fee of around £28million. The Ivorian had been prolific in the Premier League for the Swans and was no doubt their standout player in that period, so it was inevitable that a richer club would come along.
The move never made much sense. Bony will have seen the move as a chance to win trophies and collect a bigger wage packet, so it was understandable from a personal point of view.
However, from a professional point of view, it made no sense. City did play with two strikers under Manuel Pellegrini in his earlier days, but around the time Bony signed if I remember rightly the Chilean was playing with one up front.
That one striker was always going to be Aguero. When fit he is one of the best strikers in the world. The Argentinian has experienced injury problems, but still Bony was never going to oust the former Atletico Madrid star from the starting line-up for long.
Bony is a very good Premier League striker
Bony was prolific in the Eredivisie with Vitesse Arnhem prior to his switch to Wales. The Dutch top-flight is not always a great yardstick to measure a striker’s prowess by, though. The 17 goals in his debut campaign in the Premier League with a pretty average Swansea team proved he could cut it at Premier League level.
The next campaign was split between the Swans and City, as he scored 11 top-flight goals, which was not a bad tally considering a number of his 30 league appearances came from the City bench.
Bony looked like a dangerous striker for the Swans when he played regular first-team football and was given a decent supply of chances. At 27-years-old he should be at the peak of his powers as a striker, but any talent he does have is wasted at City.
Where to next for Bony?
It now looks likely that the Ivorian will leave City before the transfer window shuts. A number of clubs including the aforementioned West Ham have been linked with a move for Bony before the transfer window shuts.
The Hammers are currently favourites to sign the Ivory Coast international. The Irons will be hoping to tie a deal up for the striker before they ironically face a trip to City on Sunday, a game they are odds of 10/1 to win.
West Ham have a number of forward options currently sidelined through injury including Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew. Boss Slaven Bilic has revealed that he hopes to sign one more player before the transfer window shuts.
Everton were reported admirers of the striker with Toffees boss Ronald Koeman believed to be looking to add to his striking options. However, it seems their interest in the striker has now cooled. Bony would also face the prospect of playing second fiddle to Romelu Lukaku on Merseyside.
There was also speculation that Bony was interesting Arsenal, but the Gunners seem to be concentrating on attempting to sign a centre-back. Again the striker would find first team football at Arsenal hard to come by with French striker Olivier Giroud blocking his way into the lone striker role.
A move to West Ham seems like it could be the perfect one for the striker. He is likely to get first team football and give the Hammers a big goal threat in the process. City will also get rid of a player that does not seem to have any chance of first team football, so everyone’s a winner.
Would Wilfried Bony be a good signing for West Ham?
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