The former Blues frontman considers one Argentine star to be the best the Premier League has seen, but feels another could one day fill his boots
Replacing Sergio Aguero will not be easy for Manchester City, with Shaun Goater considering the Argentine to be the best striker of the Premier League era, but Juventus star Paulo Dybala has been mooted as a potential successor for a fellow countryman.
One South American fromtman has become the all-time leading goalscorer at the Etihad Stadium over the course of eight productive years in England.
There is no sign of Aguero slowing down, with there still a prominent role for him to play under Pep Guardiola at 31 years of age.
He remains under contract until 2021, but there will come a day in which he walks away from the reigning Premier League champions and leaves a sizeable void to fill.
Former City fan favourite Goater believes Aguero is the finest frontman to have graced the English top-flight since 1992, with a prolific presence considered to sit above the likes of Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry on that list.
“The goals tell you that,” Goater told the Evening Standard.
“The stats don’t lie. The man is a machine and I think if you ask all them, he will be the first name they all say.
“He’s an absolute phenomenal striker – he’s a machine.”
Aguero has plundered 244 goals for City, with 173 of those coming in the Premier League.
Shearer, Henry, Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole and Frank Lampard are the only men with more efforts to their name.
Replacing such a talismanic presence will be difficult, even with Gabriel Jesus already on City’s books, but Goater believes another Argentine starring in Italy could be a suitable option.
He added: “I don’t know if you can develop that type of player. I think it comes down to exceptional recruitment.
“To find a player around 19, 20 and to see the vision that this player has, a high intellectual understanding of the game, good body strength, good physique in terms of conditioning to be able to play week in, week out, fast – because the modern day forward needs to be quick.
“To recruit a Sergio-type striker, to see that, that’s a great eye and every club wants a great recruitment officer like that.
“There are loads of kids around the world, say in South America that have this low centre of gravity, this agility. You look at Dybala. On the eye you think ‘What a player’.
“Maybe over the next year or two he will become more prolific, because we see the quality he has already. But does he go to the next level of being a scoring player? I know he’s not an out and out centre forward.
“But there are players out there. I’m sure the club will eventually recruit and find somebody, but it’s not an easy task. That’s what everybody wants.”