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Stevan Jovetic (13 league games {only 2 starts}): 6/10
A rating of 6 seems a bit high given Stevie J's injury history this season, doesn't it? Well, I always look at the glass half full, but let's consider a few things: Jovetic's .75 goals per90 is actually quite comparable to Dzeko's .73 goals per90, and I'm pretty sure we all thought Edin had a great year overall. Next let's consider that Jovetic's shots on target per90, 2.54, ranked as first in the squad. Finally, let's consider that all of this happened in an extremely disjointed season in which Stevie was only on the pitch for 10.5% of the entire Premier League season, and 11 of his 13 appearances were off the bench.
My point here: he did extremely well during his limited time on the pitch, and I think most of us would agree even without the aforementioned collection of stats. His appearances were scattered all over the season and especially for someone playing in his first season in a new league, he shouldn't have posted per90 numbers that high. But, his playing style is what makes him a true game changer. Excellent passer, good movement, and he's got a knack for shooting whenever a little space opens up. Dzeko sometimes takes shots from distance but he isn't very good at them and I don't think Aguero shoots from distance enough. But Jovetic has never seemed afraid, and that's particularly key given the amount of times we're faced with a couple Humvees parked across the 18.
So, what might we expect from a healthy Jovetic? Well we must first cross our fingers and hope that he can stay healthy, since that is the only thing holding him back. But if he is able to play consistently and work himself into any sort of rhythm, the rewards could be huge. After all, we still don't really know what Jovetic can do on a game in, game out basis; we only saw him here and there. He seems like he has the potential to be a shots on target monster, of the ilk of Suarez but maybe without the clinical finishing. When you think about it, it's almost as if he'll be a new signing going into next season. And with the uncertain futures of Milner and Toure, the loss of form by Negredo, and the inconsistent play of Navas, help might be needed in the attack next season. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to see what a Jovetic/Aguero pairing could look like, too.
