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Dzeko or Tevez – Who should stay? Would you take them in your team?

Dzeko or Tevez

With the excitement building ahead of the new Premier League campaign, there has been a lot of activity from the biggest teams in England. David Moyes has made his first signing as manager of Manchester United in young Uruguayan full back Guillermo Varela, whilst neighbours Manchester City have confirmed the transfers of Fernandinho and Jesus Navas in the past week; despite having no manager.

It is football’s worst kept secret that Manuel Pellegrini is set to take over at the Etihad Stadium in the near future, and many are predicting a busy summer in Manchester.

With Pellegrini set to kick start a new era at the home of the 2012 Premier League champions, many of the playing staff are starting to look over their shoulders after disappointing campaigns last year.

And with City’s main problem last year being their inability to score as many as in their title winning season, two names rumoured to be heading out of the door are Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez. Many sports betting sites have been giving odds for a Dzeko move to Chelsea under the new Mourinho era.

Dzeko, who is contracted at City until 2015, was seen largely as a “super sub” as he came off the bench to produce miracles for the Blues; most memorably at the Hawthorns in October when his goals helped to claw victory from the jaws of defeat.

Meanwhile, it is a very different situation for the volatile Tevez, who is entering the last year of his deal with City and with his past debacles with the club, it wouldn’t be the worst decision to get rid if the price is right.

But, who do the stats point to? Last season saw City experiment with a number of different formations under Roberto Mancini – most notably 4-2-2-2 and 3-5-2 – with both Dzeko and Tevez having to play a number of different roles under these systems.

In terms of goals scored, it would be obvious to stick with Dzeko. Despite playing 593 fewer minutes than his Argentinian team mate, Dzeko has contributed five more league goals than Tevez, who was only able to manage 11 in his first full season since his self-imposed exile 18 months ago.

In turn, this makes the Bosnian’s goal’s per minute ratio significantly better than Tevez’s, who managed one goal every 219 minutes, compared to Dzeko’s one every 130 minutes.

The reason Mancini decided to bring Dzeko from Wolfsburg in January 2011 was due to his impressive chance conversion rates where his goals to minute ratio were consistently excellent in the Bundesliga, fluctuating from one goal every 101 minutes to one every 152 minutes between 2008 and 2011.

In honesty, Dzeko is considered as one of Europe’s most clinical centre forwards, and these stats prove why he was one of Mancini’s most valuable acquisitions during his two year reign at the Blues.

As you can see below, the stats regarding goal attempts are very similar between Dzeko and Tevez, with both having a similar number of shots last season, with the only disappointment seeing Dzeko’s number of missed clear cut chances during the year.

Dzeko and Tevez Goal Attempts

Many argue that whilst Dzeko will always give you goals, the whole package is missing with the Bosnian compared to Tevez.

Signed from Manchester United in 2009, Tevez has cemented himself as a legend in the eyes of many at the club, thanks to his tremendous work rate and attitude.  But with him entering the final year of his deal, several people believe that it would be wise to get some money and look for suitable replacements – as you never know when he can go AWOL.

But as stated – it is Tevez’s creativity and selfless attitude which could result in Pellegrini attempting to convince the Argentinian to extend his contract.

His stats in this department completely dwarf those of Dzeko’s, and his ability to consistently dribble past his opponents caused devastation last season. With a total of 47 successful dribbles, compared to Dzeko’s three, saw Tevez record eight assists over the season, much better than Dzeko, whose three assists only came from open play.

Excluding assists, Tevez also created 20 more chances than Dzeko during the season, and with passing stats that almost double those of the Bosnian’s during the 2012/13 season, there are many cases for keeping Tevez at City.

Dzeko and Tevez Creativity

Dzeko and Tevez Passing

But, with City signing right winger Jesus Navas on Tuesday evening, there is a possibility that Pellegrini will be adopting similar tactics to the ones used during his time in Spain, giving Dzeko a head-start upon Tevez in terms of staying in Manchester.

Under Pellegrini, all three of Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga used target men to provide a consistent goal tally and Dzeko could be used in a similar vein.

And with Tevez being photo-shopped out of the club’s season tickets image on the official Manchester City site, his departure could be sooner rather than later – with Malaga star Isco reported to replace Tevez and join Pellegrini from the Costa del Sol.

Britain Soccer FA Cup

 

Finally we ask would you take either of these players into the teams you support? There have been rumours of Premier League sides after each of the players. Leave your comments below and let us know!

[box_light]All of the stats from this article have been taken from the Opta Stats Centre at EPLIndex.comSubscribe Now (Includes author privileges!) Check out our new Top Stats feature on the Stats Centre which allows you to compare all players in the league & read about new additions to the stats centre.[/box_light]

Aaron Leggott
Aaron Leggott
I am a freelance Sports Journalist currently studying for a degree in the field at Staffordshire University. I have just finished my second year and am a huge fan of all sports, but football in particular.
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