Penalty hero Mooy awaits a Wembley play-off final
AARON Mooy could be playing in the Premier League next season - after firing Huddersfield Town to a dramatic play-off win against Sheffield Wednesday.
The 26-year-old joined City on a three-year deal last summer after impressing at parent club Melbourne City.
The Australia international was immediately loaned out to Huddersfield for his first taste of competitive football in England and has been at the heart of the Terriers’ remarkable march to the play-offs.
Making his 50th appearance of the season, Mooy confidently stepped up to take Town’s fourth penalty against Wednesday at Hillsborough on after the semifinal finished 1-1.
The Australian smashed home the spot-kick past then punched the air as he returned to his delighted team-mates.
Huddersfield will face Reading in the final at Wembley on Monday, May 29 - aiming to return to the top-flight for the first time since 1972.
Whether Mooy will be involved next season remains to be seen after his agent, Paddy Dominguez, claimed the Terriers had not yet made contact about extending his loan.
“I’ve had no contact from anybody at Huddersfield regarding Aaron Mooy for next season,” he told Australian news channel SBS. “That doesn’t mean they won’t contact me... it just means they haven’t to date.
“The options are whether he stays at Manchester City, or whether Huddersfield want him should they be promoted, or there is the possibility of a sale to other clubs.” RAHEEM Sterling needs to take a leaf out of Sergio Aguero’s book and rise to the biggest challenge of his football career.
The England winger was a spectator from the bench as City ended their home campaign with a show of attacking force that overwhelmed a stubborn and organised West Bromwich Albion.
He was the one who made way for Pep Guardiola’s recall of Kun, with Gabriel Jesus shifting across from his usual central position to be on the right of a potent three-man front line.
It was a big success and proved beyond a doubt that Aguero and Jesus CAN play together – in fact, together with Leroy Sane and backed up by Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Yaya Toure, they were a real menace.
The first time Pep Guardiola tried to pair Aguero and Jesus, at Middlesbrough, it was a flop and the manager ripped it up by sending on Sane and Sterling early in the second half.
But in that game Aguero played in a deeper position and Jesus, who thrives on being a busy, dynamic striker, looked a bit lost, afraid to drop deep for fear of he and Aguero tripping over each other.
Guardiola solved that problem against West Brom by playing Jesus on the right of a three-man attack, and it was a revelation.
With the Brazilian’s relentless running and positivity ravening the Baggies’ left flank, and Sane’s pace and trickery tormenting their right, Aguero thrived as a brilliant pivot.
It was an irresistible combination, and Sterling, watching from the bench, will have realised that his work is cut out just getting back into the team.
It is not a huge issue, as Guardiola’s love for rotation, and the demands of the English season, mean that a player of Sterling’s ability will always get games.
It would not be a big surprise if the manager opted for his pace at Watford on Sunday, as the Blues have looked devastating away from home with him and Sane operating in tandem.
But if City faced a big game against top opponents tomorrow, Guardiola would almost certainly stick to that Sane-Aguero-Jesus three-pronged attack.
Sterling’s early-season form has gone a little stale recently, and even though he is still one goal short of his career-best tally of 11 from last season, he has doubled his assists.
So what does Sterling have to do to win his place back?
The key to it is probably in a few little words that Guardiola tossed into the room after that dismal 2-2 draw at Boro.
He was asked about Sane and Sterling, and his answer was enlightening.
“In that position you have to run a lot,” he said. “They are wingers and we have to help with the full backs in that position to close the crosses and they are not able to do that over 90 minutes, especially Raheem.”
Guardiola loves Sterling, and is convinced that he can become a top talent on the world stage.
But that “especially Raheem” carries a warning. It is not enough in a Guardiola team to have pace and penetration, you need work rate and the ability to link things up.
Sterling has it in him, and if he needs a role model, he should cast a glance at Kun – his running stats have gone through the roof this season, and he has started to look like a classic No. 10 rather than just the man who finishes.
He also has 31 goals this season, in case anyone wondered what effect this new role might have on his stats.
Next season, the Blues will have a new right back racing down that flank, if City’s transfer plans go well – and if it is Kyle Walker, he and Sterling would be an exciting fit, for club and country.
But Guardiola unveiled an exciting new option against West Brom, and Sterling has to add a little bit of Jesus’ gusto to his game if he is going to be a part of Pep’s firstchoice XI