Manchester City have agreed a fee of £25m rising to £28m with Swansea City for the striker Wilfried Bony, who is set to sign a 4½-year deal worth £100,000 a week. Bony’s recruitment means Manuel Pellegrini will have to drop one of his 16 allocated overseas players from City’s Champions League squad.
The 26-year-old, who is on duty with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations, has been bought as Pellegrini decided he needed a fourth striker. The manager is concerned about the injury records of the other three: Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic.
Pellegrini said on Friday: “The injuries were part of the decision, because we had too many. It’s normal strikers are injured more than other players especially here in England where you need strong footballers and it’s physical football. That’s why I said last year, and this year also, we need a fourth striker.”
As City attempt to defend the title, win the FA Cup and progress in the Champions League, in which they next play Barcelona in the last-16 at home on the 24 February, Pellegrini believes a fourth striker could be vital. “I think it’s important you have the squad you think you need. Last season we had four strikers, and the four strikers were useful to win the title,” said Pellegrini, who allowed Álvaro Negredo to join Valencia on loan last summer. “You cannot say that because you are bringing in another striker you are going to win. In the first part of the season it’s important to analyse and I assure you that we need a fourth striker.
“If that striker will help, we are going to be a strong squad with him. It’s very important for all players to have competition because they have their best performance when they have important competition.”
Asked who he might drop from the Champions League squad, Pellegrini said: “We will make that decision in February, three or four days before we start the Champions League again.
“At that moment we will see which player will be out of the squad.”
