Will Man City striker Sergio Aguero break Alan Shearer's Premier League scoring record?

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  • When Sergio Aguero arrived on English shores in 2011, Manchester City were Premier League pretenders, living in the shadow of their celebrated neighbours and making extravagant purchases in their desperate attempts to compete at the top.

    Three titles and 160 goals from the Argentine later, they are the team, the gold standard in England’s top flight. The 30-year-old’s contribution to their transformation and success is immeasurable.

    From his incredible consistency in front of goal to his big-game heroics – including that strike against Queens Park Rangers that secured a first title since 1968 – Aguero has quickly attained legendary status at City.

    That standing is even extended to the league as a whole as he now ranks eighth in the list of all-time scorers. Aguero is showing no signs of slowing down either and at 30, the question is whether or not he can usurp Alan Shearer’s tally of 260.

    Does Aguero have enough in the tank?

    WHY IT’S A BRIDGE TO FAR

    Despite his remarkable scoring record, Aguero has only won the Golden Boot once in seven full seasons so far. Injuries have played a big part in slowing him down and now that he’s into his thirties, they are bound to take a bigger toll on his body. Pep Guardiola has already been mindful of giving the Argentine a rest where possible.

    Despite making 21 starts in the league so far this season, he’s only gone the distance seven times. At best, the Argentine feasibly has five more seasons at the top level. Will he be able to score 20 goals a season over the next five campaigns? That’s a tough ask, especially since he’s bound to face a decline in his physical limitations over that period.

    There’s also no guarantee that Aguero will play out the rest of his career at City. He spends most of his time in Manchester alone, away from his family and a return to South America may be on his mind. He may be royalty in the blue half of the city but the club have great ambitions and the recruitment of a younger elite striker at some point cannot be ruled out, not to mention a coming of age for Gabriel Jesus.

    WHY HE IS CAPABLE

    Guardiola always recognised his quality but demanded more of the striker in order to fit into his intricately assembled system. When Jesus was signed it seemed like the beginning of the end for Aguero at City. Instead, he adapted and – improved even – and has re-established himself as their first choice striker.

    With the Citizens scoring goals for fun and sending records tumbling along the way under Guardiola, Aguero is bound to enjoy countless chances to get on the score sheet so long as the Catalan remains at the helm. The diminutive forward boasts the finest goal ratio in the history of the Premier League, averaging 0.70 goals per game.

    At that rate, he would need another 143 games to match Shearer’s tally. Should he steer clear of major injuries, it’s not inconceivable that he could meet the target inside five seasons.

    While he regularly picks up injuries, he has the ability to pick up from where he left off. Someone like Wayne Rooney for example needed a few games to after an injury lay-off to get back up to pace but Aguero has always slotted straight back in, never showing signs of rustiness.

    Sergio Aguero

    VERDICT

    Aguero may well go down as the Premier League’s finest goal scorer and few would deny him that. However, too many things need to go his way for him to maintain his sensational plundering in the coming years. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility but it remains a tall order for anyone who isn’t named Ronaldo or Messi.

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