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You guys don't need me to write a lengthy think piece on Agüero's out-of-this-world talent. Hell, you don't even need me to post a quick reminder of just how great he is.
By now regular Premier League watchers are fully aware of what Agüero is capable of:
- A deadly finisher.
- A high volume shooter.
- Terrific movement.
- Speed to burn.
Sergio Agüero is in elite company right now - 78 Premier League goals in his first 4 seasons in the league is ranked #5 all time.
Agüero is only the second player to crack 75 goals in their first 4 years in the league in the last 20 or so Premier League seasons (the great Thierry Henry is the other - 2000 to 2003). These are rare feats indeed for the best striker to ever wear the City shirt.
What we as fans should do is now shift the focus and the talk of Agüero being a very good striker in the Premier league toward a narrative more suiting to his achievements and skill level: Sergio Agüero is tracking well to become one of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen.
Viz
Agüero is bested only by Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler and Thierry Henry. The first 3 names on the list played parts of their first 4 years in the league when a 42 game season was in effect. This means more games and more minutes to score those goals.
The following table bears that out.
| Goals | Games | Minutes | Goals p90 | % Minutes Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shearer | 112 | 138 | 11496 | 0.88 | 77.9 |
| Ferdinand | 86 | 147 | 12805 | 0.60 | 86.8 |
| Fowler | 83 | 140 | 12192 | 0.61 | 84.7 |
| Henry | 82 | 136 | 10916 | 0.68 | 79.8 |
| Aguero | 78 | 113 | 8616 | 0.81 | 63.0 |
Agüero has played fewer games, far fewer minutes and missed more time to injury than any of his peers in this elite group. Yet despite the all that he is mighty close to everyone else not named Alan Shearer.
It is not a reach to say that with a little more health and a few more games Sergio Agüero would be sitting at #2 on this list (nobody is ever going to catch Shearer The Great). The staggering Goals p90 numbers back up that assumption.
Manchester City have a rare and historic talent on their hands in Agüero and he is under club control for the remainder of his peak years. City should be trying to capture and maximize those peak years as best they can by surrounding Agüero with the very best talent they can procure.